May 2021 year-to-date retail trade was up by 19.2% over the same period in 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: New car dealers (34.3%), Used car dealers (69.2%), Gasoline stations (11.5%), Furniture and home furnishings stores (40.2%), Electronics and appliance stores (27.8%), Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (42.9%), Health and personal care stores (5.2%), Clothing and clothing accessories stores (48.6%), Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (47.8%), Beer, wine and liquor stores (10.8%), General merchandise stores (15.5%), and all other (24.1%). 
• The only sub-sector to post a decline was: Grocery stores (-0.02%). 

 May 2021 year-to-date new motor vehicle (units) sales were up 33.8% from May 2020. 

• New minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses sales were up 34.7%, while new passenger cars sales were also up 26.4%.

May 2021 year-to-date restaurant receipts were up 16.4% over the same period in 2020.

• Within restaurant receipts, all categories posted increases: Special food services (0.3%), Drinking places (alcoholic beverages) (12.3%), Full-service restaurants (16.8%), and Limited-service eating places (17.8%).      

May 2021 year-to-date manufacturing sales are up by 32.7% over the same period in 2020.  

• All sub- sectors posted increases: Food manufacturing sales (34.3%), Chemical manufacturing sales (26.9%), Machinery manufacturing sales (19.7%), Fabricated metal product manufacturing sales (2.0%), and All other Manufacturing sales (43.0%).

May 2021 year-to-date wholesale trade was up 7.8% over the same period in 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm product merchant wholesalers (20.7%), Machinery, equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers (33.5%), Building material and supplies merchant wholesalers (16.5%), and All other (20.4%).
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Food, beverage and tobacco merchant wholesalers (-19.3%), and Agricultural supplies merchant wholesalers (-7.3%).

Total International merchandise exports were up 20.2% year-to-date June 2021 over year-to-date June 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm, fishing and intermediate food products (15.8%), Energy products (53.4%), Metal and non-metallic mineral products (257.2%), Forestry products and building and packaging materials (97.3%), Industrial machinery, equipment and parts (10.0%), Motor vehicles and parts (38.5%), Aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts (15.5%), and Consumer goods (35.3%).
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Metal ores and non-metallic minerals (-4.9%), Basic and industrial chemical, plastic and rubber products (-30.3%), Electronic and electrical equipment and parts (-6.0%), and Special transactions (-0.3%).    

With robust residential and public sector construction data, year-to-date July 2021 construction was up 2,671 positions or 6.9% from the same period in 2020.

Despite a sharp drop in year-over-year activity, led by apartment construction, July 2021 total year-to-date housing starts were up by 576 units or 33.7% over the same period in 2020.

• Year-to-date increases were observed in all categories: singles (335 units or 62.3%), semi-detached (39 units or 54.2%), row (85 units or 41.1%), and apartment and other types (117 units or 13.1%).

June 2021 year-to-date building permits were up 33.9% over the same period in 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Residential (53.0%), Commercial (18.8%), and Institutional and governmental (84.3%).
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: Industrial permits (-36.5%).

July 2021 year-to-date employment in Information, culture and recreation was down -2,686 positions or -14.4% over the same period in 2020.

May 2021 year-to-date average weekly earnings in Information and cultural industries was up 3.3%.

Q2 2021 Provincial population was up 0.02% or 288 persons over 2020 Q2 to 1,179,906. Contributing to slow population growth 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 2020, the Bank of Canada cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.25. In its July 2021 economic outlook, the Bank indicated that it will keep the rate at near-zero until the economy is ready to handle an increase in rates, which the Bank of Canada does not expect to happen until the second half of 2022.

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 and a 4.7% increase in employment in 2021 after a 4.3% decline in 2020. Meeting forecast targets is predicated upon vaccine uptake outpacing the spread of virus variants.