September 2021 year-to-date retail trade was up by 12.4% over the same period in 2020. 

• All sub-sectors posted increases: New car dealers (10.7%), Used car dealers (30.4%), Gasoline stations (16.6%), Furniture and home furnishings stores (26.2%), Electronics and appliance stores (3.1%), Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (27.1%), Health and personal care stores (5.4%), Clothing and clothing accessories stores (25.2%), Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (27.0%), Grocery stores (2.0%), Beer, wine and liquor stores (6.6%), General merchandise stores (13.6%), and all other (13.2%).

September 2021 year-to-date new motor vehicle (units) sales were up 6.7% from September 2020. New minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses sales were up 6.0%, while new passenger cars sales were also up 12.8%.

September 2021 year-to-date restaurant receipts were up 18.3% over the same period in 2020.

• Within restaurant receipts, all sub-categories posted increases: Special food services (25.2%), Drinking places (alcoholic beverages) (10.8%), Full-service restaurants (18.7%), and Limited-service eating places (18.2%).

September 2021 year-to-date manufacturing sales were up by 42.1% over the same period in 2020. 

• All sub-sectors posted increases: Food manufacturing sales (38.1%), Chemical manufacturing sales (9.6%), Machinery manufacturing sales (24.3%), Fabricated metal product manufacturing sales (7.8%), and all other manufacturing sales (66.6%).   

September 2021 year-to-date wholesale trade was up 10.6% over the same period in 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm product merchant wholesalers (35.2%), Agricultural supplies merchant wholesalers (2.5%), Machinery, equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers (21.4%), Building material and supplies merchant wholesalers (10.5%), and all other (23.8%).
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Food, beverage and tobacco merchant wholesalers (-16.5%).

Total International merchandise exports were up 23.5% year-to-date October 2021 over October 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm, fishing and intermediate food products (10.9%), Energy products (63.9%), Metal ores and non-metallic minerals (8.0%), Metal and non-metallic mineral products (392.1%), Forestry products and building and packaging materials (72.4%), Industrial machinery, equipment and parts (20.6%), Electronic and electrical equipment and parts (4.9%), Motor vehicles and parts (26.5%), and Consumer goods (18.0%).
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Basic and industrial chemical, plastic and rubber products (-8.9%), Aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts (-8.7%), and Special transactions (-2.1%).

Consistent with strong construction activity in both the residential and non-residential sectors, year-to-date November 2021 construction employment was up by 2,927 positions or 7.3% from the same period in 2020.   

Fueled by low borrowing costs, higher than expected levels of savings, and new interest in work-from-home solutions November 2021, total year-to-date housing starts were up by 970 units or 38.2% over the same period in 2020. 

• Year-to-date increases were observed in singles (324 units or 32.2%), semi-detached (76 units or 63.3%), row (122 units or 33.2%), and apartment and other types (448 units or 42.9%). 

October 2021 year-to-date building permits were up 26.5% over the same period in 2020. 

• All sub-sectors posted increases: Residential (27.5%), industrial (1.1%), commercial (27.5%), and institutional and governmental (65.5%).

November 2021 year-to-date employment in Information, culture and recreation was down -655 positions or -3.7% over the same period in 2020.

July 2021 year-to-date average weekly earnings in Information and cultural industries were up 6.6%.

The Q4 2021 Provincial population was up 0.23% or 2,703 persons over 2020 Q4 to 1,180,867. Contributing to population growth was a modest bounce-back in international immigration to 3,076 from 1,769 in the previous quarter and a higher than expected natural increase (births less deaths). Net inter-provincial migration has been negative every quarter since Q2 2013. 

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 (after a 4.3% decline in 2020). Meeting forecast targets is predicated upon vaccine uptake outpacing the spread of virus variants.