Statistics Canada has released its latest Labour Force survey, and it brings positive news for Manitoba.

Finance Minister Scott Fielding says the numbers indicate the province is moving in the right direction.

“Close to 29-thousand Manitobans, or close to 42-thousand over the last two months, have been rehired, which we think is good.” Fielding said.

Manitoba’s unemployment rate currently sits at 10.1 per cent – the second lowest in Canada, and the province currently has the nation’s lowest rate of youth unemployment, at 19.3 per cent.

“We think that’s a positive step forward,” Fielding said for both unemployment rates.

“So far we have supported, through student job creation, 7,976 positions through the Student Job Manitoba, things like the student wage subsidy, which we announced, existing programs like the STEP program and Urban and Conservation Green Teams, so close to 8-thousand students.

“That’s probably one of the reasons why we’ll have the lowest youth unemployment rate in the country predicted by the Labour Force Survey.” he added.

Fielding says the province is second only to Quebec, in spending for support programs, to help those who saw their employment affected by COVID-19, a fact for which he made no apologies.

“This is a historical thing we have gone through and to make sure that Manitobans have 2.1-billion dollars in supports, I think is really important,” he said. “We’ve also as a government showed an ability to have some flexibility in terms of those fundings that’s there to re-appropriate some money to other areas as needed.”

Manitoba gained 28,900 jobs in June, including 14,800 full-time positions.