Saskatchewan’s economy continues to show its underlying strength as the number of people receiving Employment Insurance (EI) decreased to 9,610, a 13.7 per cent drop, in February 2012 compared to the same month in 2011.

“With 23 months of year-over-year decreases in the number of people receiving EI benefits, our economy is showing its solid foundation,” Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration Minister Rob Norris said. “Average weekly earnings are rising and job opportunities are plentiful. This combination of factors builds even greater confidence in employers and investors.”

Saskatchewan experienced a 3.8 per cent decline in regular EI beneficiaries compared to January 2012 which ranks as the second highest decline among provinces.

The trend of fewer EI beneficiaries also continues in both Saskatoon and Regina. Saskatoon posted a year-over-year decrease of 14.8 per cent and Regina dropped by 17.1 per cent.

Saskatchewan had the second lowest number of regular EI beneficiaries as a percentage of the labour force population (1.2 per cent) behind Alberta at 0.9 per cent, and below the national average of 2.0 per cent.

Today, more than 11,000 job vacancies are posted on www.SaskJobs.ca.