Labour and Employment in Saskatchewan Southeast Region
A large workforce is employed in the local power plants and coal mining industry. This workforce represents about 800 stable jobs; however there are job opportunities for power engineers and heavy duty mechanics in this industry sector.
Labour requirements in the oilfield industry are cyclical in nature and fluctuate depending on global markets, the United States of America (USA) economy and to some degree, seasons of the year. Presently, the local oilfield industry is in an early growth phase (development of the Bakken formation) so demand for a variety of skills/workers is strong in the oil patch.
As a result of a strong local economy, business and consumer support services are doing well. Example: retail employment in Estevan is approximately 40% higher than the provincial average. Currently, the demand for trades (plumbers, electricians, carpenters/developers/contractors), professional health care workers and other support services (computer services, bookkeeping, daycare services, etc.) far out weigh local supply.
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a telephone survey that is the main source of labour market information in Canada and Saskatchewan. The LFS data is current (typically released a month after collection), accurate because of a large sample size, and comprehensive.
There are several disadvantages regarding LFS data in Saskatchewan.
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The sample size in Saskatchewan is 4,000 households. Depending on the number of individuals in the households, this yields labour market information for approximately 7,000 Saskatchewan adults per month. Even with such a large sample size, there is limited information at a sub-provincial level.
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The population living on Reserves is excluded from the survey.
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The labour market information applies to the place where the respondent lives rather than where they work so commuting patterns make the information less useful for the analysis of a region’s economy rather than their residents.
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For those with more than one job simultaneously, only information about the main job is collected so we miss a lot of information about off-farm jobs.
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The LFS is published for seven “economic regions” within the province. Because of the volatility of the information, the data are published for a three-month moving average.
Employment by industry, occupation, age group, hours of work, and sex, is routinely published for each of the economic regions. Other labour market information such as wage rates, tenure, education level, class of worker, etc. is available on request.
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The Southeast economic region used for publication of the Labour Force Survey is larger than the Saskatchewan South East Enterprise Region (SSEER).
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In 2006, the most recent year for which there are specific labour market statistics for the SSEER, employment among the residents was 26,000.
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In the same year, employment in the LFS economic region was 37,800 so the SSEER accounts for about 2/3 of the employment in the LFS economic region.
Employment in the Labour Force Survey Southeast Economic Region
Employment among residents of the Southeast Economic Region is on track to increase by 5% in 2010 to reach 42,000. 
Labour Force Data for the Southeast Economic Region
| Labour Force Statistics for Southeast Economic Region | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | |
| Population 15 & older | 60,000 | 59,500 | 59,200 | 59,000 | 58,800 | 58,100 | 58,000 | 58,800 | 59,300 |
| Labour force | 39,200 | 39,000 | 40,000 | 39,700 | 40,100 | 38,900 | 40,400 | 41,900 | 41,800 |
| Employment | 37,700 | 37,300 | 38,200 | 38,100 | 38,800 | 37,800 | 39,300 | 40,900 | 40,000 |
| Full-time employment | 29,900 | 29,000 | 29,700 | 31,100 | 31,100 | 30,400 | 31,500 | 33,100 | 31,900 |
| Part-time employment | 7,900 | 8,300 | 8,500 | 7,000 | 7,700 | 7,400 | 7,800 | 7,800 | 8,000 |
| Unemployment | 1,500 | 1,600 | 1,800 | 1,600 | 1,400 | 1,100 | 1,100 | 1,000 | 1,800 |
| Not in labour force | 20,800 | 20,600 | 19,200 | 19,200 | 18,700 | 19,200 | 17,500 | 16,900 | 17,500 |
| Unemployment rate | 3.8% | 4.1% | 4.5% | 4.0% | 3.5% | 2.8% | 2.7% | 2.4% | 4.3% |
| Participation rate | 65.3% | 65.5% | 67.6% | 67.3% | 68.2% | 67.0% | 69.7% | 71.3% | 70.5% |
| Employment rate | 62.8% | 62.7% | 64.5% | 64.6% | 66.0% | 65.1% | 67.8% | 69.6% | 67.5% |
| Employment by Industry Group | |||||||||
| Goods-producing sector | |||||||||
| Agriculture | 6,400 | 6,200 | 7,200 | 7,100 | 6,500 | 5,600 | 5,000 | 5,700 | 7,300 |
| Mining, oil and gas, utilities | 3,100 | 3,900 | 3,900 | 4,100 | 3,700 | 5,000 | 5,200 | 5,200 | 4,500 |
| Construction | 2,400 | 1,800 | 1,800 | 2,200 | 2,500 | 2,100 | 3,000 | 3,100 | 3,200 |
| Manufacturing | 1,300 | 800 | 1,100 | 1,400 | 1,400 | 1,200 | 1,700 | 1,500 | 1,100 |
| Services-producing sector | |||||||||
| Wholesale and retail trade | 5,400 | 5,500 | 5,600 | 6,500 | 6,400 | 6,100 | 6,500 | 7,200 | 5,800 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 1,900 | 2,000 | 1,500 | 1,600 | 2,300 | 2,200 | 1,500 | 1,900 | 2,000 |
| Finance, insurance, real estate and leasing | 2,000 | 2,300 | 1,700 | 1,100 | 1,400 | 1,700 | 1,800 | 2,100 | 2,200 |
| Professional, scientific and business services | 1,700 | 1,400 | 1,200 | 1,400 | 1,800 | 1,500 | 2,000 | 1,900 | 1,500 |
| Educational services | 2,500 | 2,500 | 2,700 | 2,600 | 2,300 | 1,800 | 1,800 | 2,200 | 2,100 |
| Health care and social assistance | 4,100 | 4,600 | 4,300 | 3,500 | 4,700 | 4,200 | 4,300 | 4,000 | 4,500 |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,600 | 2,000 | 2,200 | 1,700 | 1,600 | 1,800 | 2,800 | 2,100 | 1,500 |
| Other services | 3,100 | 3,200 | 3,900 | 3,900 | 2,600 | 3,200 | 2,500 | 2,400 | 2,300 |
| Public administration | 1,300 | 1,200 | 1,200 | 1,200 | 1,600 | 1,400 | 1,200 | 1,600 | 1,900 |
| Total employed | 37,700 | 37,300 | 38,200 | 38,100 | 38,800 | 37,800 | 39,300 | 40,900 | 40,000 |
Information courtesy of SaskTrends Monitor. Click here to learn more.