January 2021 year-to-date retail trade was up by 2.2% over the same period in 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: New car dealers (1.2%), Used car dealers (10.1%), Furniture and home furnishings stores (5.1%), Electronics and appliance stores (22.0%), Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (16.0%), Health and personal care stores (1.6%), Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (11.8%), Grocery stores (7.0%), Beer, wine and liquor stores (19.1%), General merchandise stores (12.8%), and all other (2.4%).
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: Gasoline stations (-18.9%) and Clothing and clothing accessories stores (-22.9%).

January 2021 year-to-date new motor vehicle (units) sales were down -3.4% from January 2020. New minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses sales were up 0.5%, while new passenger cars sales were down -26.3%.

January 2021 year-to-date restaurant receipts were down -14.2% over the same period in 2020. Within restaurant receipts, limited-service eating places (0.3%) increased. At the same time, declines were noted in Special food services (-32.5%), Drinking places (alcoholic beverages) (-63.7%), and Full-service restaurants (-25.1%).

January 2021 year-to-date manufacturing sales were up by 13.8% over the same period in 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Food manufacturing sales (12.0%), Chemical manufacturing sales (21.9%), and All other Manufacturing sales (14.0%).
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Machinery manufacturing sales (-3.0%) and Fabricated metal product manufacturing sales (-3.5%).

January 2021 year-to-date wholesale trade was up 4.5% over the same period in 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Machinery, equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers (25.1%) and All other (6.9%).
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: Farm product merchant wholesalers (-7.9%), Food, beverage and tobacco merchant wholesalers (-12.1%), Agricultural supplies merchant wholesalers (-1.4%), and Building material and supplies merchant wholesalers (-2.1%).

Total International merchandise exports were up 13.0% year-to-date February 2021 over February 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm, fishing and intermediate food products (35.1%), Metal and non-metallic mineral products (119.6%), Forestry products and building and packaging materials (39.4%), Industrial machinery, equipment and parts (16.3%), Motor vehicles and parts (9.1%), Aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts (5.3%), and Consumer goods (35.8%).
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Energy products (-12.3%), Metal ores and non-metallic minerals (-8.9%), Basic and industrial chemical, plastic and rubber products (-49.2%), Electronic and electrical equipment and parts (-8.2%), and Special transactions (-13.0%).

With robust residential and public sector construction data, year-to-date March 2021 construction was up 567 positions or 1.5% from the same period in 2020.

Driven by low inventories, low interest rates, and record savings levels, March 2021 total year-to-date housing starts were up by 470 units or 97.1% over the same period in 2020.

• Year-to-date increases were observed in: singles (75 units or 41.0%), semi-detached (34 units or 340.0%), and apartment and other types (385 units or 186.9%).
• Year-to-date declines were limited to row housing (-24 units or -28.2%).

February 2021 year-to-date building permits were down -0.2% over the same period in 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: residential (39.3%) and institutional and governmental (138.7%).
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: industrial (-64.7%) and commercial (-30.4%).

March 2021 year-to-date employment in Information, culture and recreation was down -7,967 positions or -38.1% over the same period in 2020.

January 2021 year-to-date average weekly earnings in Information and cultural industries was up 1.1%.

Q1 2021 Provincial population was down 0.03% (or 322 persons) over 2020 Q1 to 1,178,832. Contributing to this decline was the pandemic-related drop in international in-migration. Net inter-provincial migration has been negative every quarter since Q2 2013.

In 3 rapid rate cuts on March 4th, March 13th, and March 27th, the Bank of Canada cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.25%.

The Bank of Canada will likely keep its benchmark rate near zero in the medium term to spur post pandemic economic activity. In its March 2021 rate announcement, the Bank of Canada reiterated that it has no plans to raise its rate for another two years.

According to the Conference Board of Canada, in its March 2021 forecast, the Saskatchewan outlook for 2021 is for 4.9% growth in real GDP after a 5.1% decline in 2020. Employment in the province is expected to rebound 4.7% in 2021 after a 4.3% decline in 2020. Meeting forecast targets is predicated on vaccine rollouts outpacing the spread of virus variants.