Unemployment rate grows as Sask. sees 7,800 job losses in February

It may be the lowest of all the provinces, but Saskatchewan’s unemployment rate has grown.

The province recorded about 7,800 job losses from January 2016 to February 2016. That has bumped the unemployment rate up 0.3 per cent  to 5.9 per cent.

The losses month to month are much higher than year to year, with just 1,100 jobs lost from February 2015 to February 2016.

Statistics Canada says the majority of the month-to-month losses were in construction, with 2,600 fewer jobs. Accommodation and food services saw 1,700 fewer jobs; business, building and other support services lost 1,400; education services lost 1,500 jobs; and manufacturing lost 1,000 jobs.

Nationally, the unemployment rate crept up to 7.3 per cent for the first time in three years.