Paul Martin's Business Update - September 8th, 2014

There was a big surge in the province’s labor force last month. Roughly 6,000 more people were available for work in Saskatchewan in August than there were in July.

That’s a big jump and one that pushed our unemployment rate up a full percentage point. Just what caused the change is not explained by the latest labor force survey issued by Statistics Canada which is still stinging from its miscount last month and this might just be another glitch.

But it masks other changes that were going on in the market. Job numbers rose in August – up about 200 positions – but the real change was in the type of jobs.

Full-time positions as well as part-time spots rose by 100 in the month. When compared to a year ago, however, the change is much more clearly delineated. Full-time positions have risen by 12,000 while part-time spots fell almost 4,000. Part-time work is being replaced by full-time employment in this market – this is a trend that has been evident for months now – but the labor pool is also growing, making it easier for employers to find talent.

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