SASKATOON – A newly released report suggests the Saskatoon region has a “highly diversified” economy. The Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority (SREDA) used three indicators to determine the area’s level of economic diversity.
“The findings indicate that the Saskatoon region economy is indeed highly diversified. This diversification should help provide stability for the local economy in times of economic transition, such as the one currently impacting the Prairie provinces,” SREDA president and CEO Alex Fallon said in a news release.
The report shows employment spread across multiple sectors with 42 per cent of jobs concentrated in three sectors.
READ MORE: SREDA gives Saskatoon economy a B- grade for Q3
The study also used a measurement called the Herfindahl index to understand the extent to which a few sectors dominate a local economy.
Using the index, Saskatoon’s regional economy appeared more diverse than those of Victoria, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Windsor and the St. Catherine’s-Niagara region. Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax and Oshawa received more diversified Herfindahl scores than Saskatoon.
The third measure uses gross domestic product to determine an Economic Diversity Index (EDI) rating. Saskatoon’s EDI is 87 per cent. An ideal level of diversity would score 100 per cent.
“A highly diversified economy is not the ultimate silver bullet to deflect slowdowns in economic growth, but less diversified economies are more prone to significant downward adjustments in challenging economic times,” Fallon said.
This is the first time SREDA has undertaken such an analysis.
Comments