The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Saskatchewan's job numbers continued their record pace in June, topping the half-million mark for the third time in the province's history. Statistics Canada figures show 503,000 people working in Saskatchewan last month (seasonally unadjusted figures). That's the highest figure on record for the month of June, beating by 1,500 the old mark set in June 2003. June's numbers mark the fifth straight month of job increases year over year and follow record-setting performances in April and May for monthly job numbers. "Our strong job numbers for the first half of 2004 signal an economy that clearly has momentum," Industry and Resources Minister Eric Cline said. Sectors recording increases last month included manufacturing, construction, transportation, finance, insurance and real estate, services, and the forestry, oil and gas and mining industries. Full-time jobs were up 4,000 over the previous June. Agriculture employment dropped 4,000 from the previous June. As was the case in May, the decrease was exclusively in livestock production as a result of the continuing BSE challenge. See 'Indicators' P.# Con't from P.# Cline said other indicators point to strong economic performance. Manufacturing shipments, potash production and sales, oil and gas production and drilling, retail and department store sales, and international exports are all up. Scotiabank, CIBC, TD Bank and Global Insight are saying Saskatchewan will be one of the nation's leaders in economic growth this year, and a recent survey by Manpower Inc. shows 93 per cent of Regina employers and 97 per cent of Saskatoon employers surveyed expect their staff levels to increase or stay the same between July and September.
