REGINA — Saskatchewan's unemployment rate stood at 6 per cent in July, maintaining a stable job market that sits comfortably below the national average.
Nationally, Canada saw its unemployment rate dip to 6.4 per cent in July, down slightly from 6.5 per cent in the previous month.
Manitoba and Quebec led the country with the lowest unemployment rates at five per cent and 5.6 per cent, respectively. Saskatchewan holds the third-lowest rate nationwide, in line with steady performance across the Prairies..
Looking at July jobless rates across Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador sat at 9.3 per cent, Prince Edward Island at 6.8 per cent, Nova Scotia at 6.2 per cent, and New Brunswick at seven per cent. In central Canada, Quebec reported 5.6 per cent and Ontario hit 6.8 per cent. Out west, Manitoba recorded five per cent, Saskatchewan six per cent, Alberta seven per cent, and British Columbia 6.2 per cent.
Within Saskatchewan, the employment picture varies significantly by region. The Yorkton-Melville economic region continues to be the most robust labour market in the province, recording a low 4.5 per cent unemployment rate in July. This represents a noticeable decrease from earlier in the spring, when the region peaked at 5.5 per cent in April.
Other regions in July reported jobless rates of 5.6 per cent in Regina, 5.7 per cent in Swift Current-Moose Jaw, 6.2 per cent in Saskatoon, and 7.3 per cent in Prince Albert and Northern Saskatchewan.
Prince Albert continues to experience the highest unemployment in the province, a trend that has persisted through much of 2026.
Looking back over the past few years, Saskatchewan's job market has seen significant fluctuations. During the height of the pandemic in 2020, the provincial unemployment rate averaged 8.2 per cent for the year. The market steadily recovered, with yearly averages dropping to 4.7 per cent in 2022 and holding steady at 4.7 per cent again in 2023. In 2024 and 2025, rates began to normalize, averaging 5.4 per cent and 5.1 per cent, respectively.
Since the start of 2026, unemployment in Saskatchewan has been slowly climbing. The year began with a 5.6 per cent jobless rate in January, which trended upwards through the spring, peaking at 6.1 per cent in May. July’s figure of six per cent represents a very slight cooling of that upward trend. Currently, there are 40,200 unemployed individuals in the province, compared to 626,600 who are working.
Across Canada, 21,214,800 people were working in July, while 1,454,700 were unemployed.
A deeper look at the national demographics for July shows a youth unemployment rate of 12.6 per cent for those aged 15 to 24. For those 25 and older, the unemployment rate was 5.7 per cent for men and 5.2 per cent for women.
The national participation rate was 65.1 per cent, with a national employment rate of 60.9 per cent. Saskatchewan's participation rate in July stood at 67.9 per cent, noticeably higher than the national average, indicating a highly engaged provincial workforce.
