Statistics Canada says there was little change in December employment numbers with the unemployment rate rising 0.3 per cent to 6.8 per cent.

Employment rose among people aged 55 and older, up 0.8 per cent but dropped by a percentage point for youth aged 15 to 24.

Statistics Canada says there were more people working in health care and social assistance as well as in ‘other services’ such as personal and repair services. At the same time, fewer people were employed in professional, scientific and technical, accommodation and food services, and utilities.

The number of people employed fell in Saskatchewan and Alberta last month while Quebec added jobs. There was little employment change in the other provinces. Month over month the unemployment rate rose in Saskatchewan to 6.5 per cent after the province shed 4,000 jobs.

Average hourly wages among employees increased 3.4 per cent to $37.06 on a year-over-year basis in December.

The Saskatchewan government highlights year over year numbers which are more positive and in a news release says in 2025, Saskatchewan’s economy created 15,200 jobs. The province also had the lowest annual unemployment rate among provinces at 5.2 per cent.

Industries that saw the largest job gains from 2024 were health care and social assistance up 9,000, construction which increased by 5,000, and agriculture increased by 1,600.