Saskatchewan jobs outlook remains sluggish

Greg Paseska is one of the thousands in Saskatchewan looking for a job.

“I’ve been out of work for a year now, and it’s hard,” Paseska said in an interview with Global News.

READ MORE: From the strongest to weakest, economic outlooks differ widely in Saskatchewan

The 61-year-old worked in parts management for multiple RV companies for the majority of his career, an industry that isn’t hiring like it used to.

“There isn’t much out there in that industry,” he said. “So I’ve been looking at different roles.”

Paseska heads to Quint Development Corporation daily to apply for jobs online.

Quint provides resources to around 1,500 job seekers a year to bolster their resumes, apply to jobs online, and get face to face meetings with employers at job fairs.

Their latest job fair at Bedford Road Collegiate saw around 700 people in attendance with over 40 employers.

“We often work one on one with job seekers to help make sure that their resumes align with the job descriptions to make sure they make it through those systems,” Kayla Brien, employer relations with Quint Development, said.

READ MORE: Canadian household debt-to-income ratio slips: StatsCan

Paseska has actively been applying through Quint’s resource room, even for some jobs four to five times.

He said it’s challenging.

“It’s hard to get that one on one response over the computer,” he said. “I would even be happy with part-time, full-time, looking at anything.”

But Saskatoon’s job market is looking sluggish heading into the next quarter.

According to a new report from Manpower Group, the employment outlook in Saskatoon is expected to drop by two per cent over the next few months. That is a 16 per cent decline since this time last year.

“There seems to be a trend of more part time and contract kind of work,” Brien said. “So not as much security.”

READ MORE: Saskatchewan posts second-lowest unemployment rate, but there is economic caution

Saskatchewan families have also been taking home less; bearing the brunt of the economic slowdown of the past two years.

According to Statistics Canada, the median after-tax income in the province dropped for a second straight year.

However, one economist says to remain patient, as we’re going to see slow growth over the next few years.

“Wages only soften up when the economy is not growing, so we’re not going to see a lot of wage growth,”  Jason Childs, an associate professor of economics at the University of Regina, said. “You’re going to see a lot of zeros or one or two percent in terms of wage growth.”

Fewer hours for employees may also be a casualty of slow recovery as well, according to Childs, especially in industries relying on consumer spending.

“The economy overall started to grow again but consumer finances are really stretched and consumers are tapped out,” Childs said.

Despite that, there is some good news. The Manpower report suggests stronger outlooks in the construction, mining and transportation sectors heading into the next quarter.

“There are openings out there, there are vacancies, but it’s not that red hot labour market that we’ve gotten used to for a while there,” Childs said. “We have to be cognizant that we’re just going to truck along.”

Back at Quint, that’s exactly what Paseska plans to do.

“I’m hoping to get something,” he said. “That’s what I’m working here for, that’s what I’m here for.”

While economic outlooks for Saskatchewan vary between reports, all are reporting positive GDP growth this year.