REGINA - StatsCan job numbers are out for August, and yet again Saskatchewan’s two major political parties have wildly varying interpretations of what the numbers mean for the province.
The SaskParty government put out a news release Friday morning, pointing to Saskatchewan adding over 4,600 new jobs year over year, with the labour force climbing to 632,800 an all-time high. The province also pointed to monthly job gains of 2,800 jobs created, ranking third in the country.
“With each month of growth, Saskatchewan gets closer to achieving its Growth Plan goal of adding 100,000 jobs by 2030,” Immigration and Career Training Jeremy Harrison said in a news release. “Investment in Saskatchewan is driving our economic growth, but our strong labour force is critical to Saskatchewan’s continued advancement on our goal of making Saskatchewan the best place to live, work and raise a family.”
Saskatchewan also noted in its news release that its seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was at 5.4 per cent, which it noted was the third lowest amongst the provinces.
But the Opposition NDP also issued their own news release, pointing out that this unemployment rate had actually grown for the third consecutive month. They also pointed to the August numbers as representing the worst year-over-year job creation rate in the country, at 0.9 per cent.
The NDP also repeated their claim that every other province in Canada has created jobs at a faster rate than Saskatchewan since Scott Moe became Premier in February 2018.
“Today the jobs numbers once again highlight this government’s failure to deliver results for the people of this province. The government is last in the nation when it comes to their job creation record, and unemployment we find today has risen for the third month in a row,” said Opposition Leader Carla Beck at the legislature Friday.
“This isn’t Little League. You don’t get to pat yourself on the back for effort. What we’re talking about here is governing a province, and we are talking about the lives and livelihood of people who call this province home. Simply put, we need a government delivering results for the people of this province. We refuse to settle for being last in the country when it comes to creating good paying jobs. Saskatchewan has so much potential and so much opportunity.”
The Opposition NDP also pointed to StatsCan numbers indicating a drop in Saskatchewan’s building permits. The party cited July month over month numbers that showed the seasonally adjusted value of building permits in Saskatchewan has decreased $49 million, or 23.5 per cent. They also pointed a year over year decrease of $103 million or 39.2 per cent.
The NDP jobs critic Aleana Young pointed once again at the government’s PST on construction as to blame.
“The drop in these building permits is a clear troubling economic indicator, an early indicator of a slumping economy. And once again, Scott Moe’s spin turns out to be empty words.”
When asked about the competing spin by the two parties about the jobs numbers, Beck said “to people out there wondering who’s right… ask are you better off than you were five years ago? Are your neighbours better off"
"Because unfortunately the answer that we received on the doorstep, including at a block party on my block last night, is no, resoundingly. We think there is potential, we know there is potential and we talk to business owners, ans we talk to industry, and we talk to people. Things that could, and should be done to encourage that kind of growth to encourage investment — we’re not seeing that right now."
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