Saskatchewan added 30,000 jobs to its economy in June as the province continues to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s the first time employment has increased in the province since the provincial government took steps in March to curb the spread of the virus.
Statistics Canada said the majority of the jobs — 20,000 — were full-time positions.
The gains in jobs were spread out among the three categories tracked by StatCan.
The largest increase in employment — nearly 13,000 jobs — were for people between the ages of 15 and 24.
Even with the increase in jobs in June, StatCan said there were almost 44,000 fewer people working in Saskatchewan than the same period a year ago.
The agency said the number of people looking for work also rose by 28,000 during the month.
The unemployment rate fell 0.9 percentage points in June to 11.6 per cent, the fourth-lowest rate among the provinces.
The national unemployment rate was 12.3 per cent as 953,000 jobs were added in June across the country.