Paul Martin's Business Update - September 18th, 2014

Despite signs that we may be reaching a bit of a balance in the labor market, a new report from StatsCan is suggesting the exact opposite. Saskatchewan, it turns out, has the tightest labor market in the country matched only by Alberta.

StatsCan has developed a different way of measuring the balance between supply and demand in the labor market by calculating how many unemployed people – those who have worked in the past year and are presently actively looking for a job – there are for every job opening.

Clearly, based on this report, it is a seller’s market.

Saskatchewan has 2.4 people available for every unfilled job. In other words, employers have only two or three people to choose from when seeking a new worker. Conversely, those looking for work will only have to outpace one or two others to get a job.

Compare that to the national average which has six people available for every vacant opening. And in Newfoundland, the number is five or six times higher than Saskatchewan with roughly 14 unemployed people for every job opening.

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