April 2021 year-to-date retail trade was up by 18.2% over the same period in 2020.

• All sub-sectors posted increases:  New car dealers (28.3%), Used car dealers (63.0%), Gasoline stations (5.1%), Furniture and home furnishings stores (38.2%), Electronics and appliance stores (30.5%), Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (52.8%), Health and personal care stores (2.8%), Clothing and clothing accessories stores (35.5%), Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (35.1%), Grocery stores (1.0%), Beer, wine and liquor stores (13.6%), General merchandise stores (17.4%), and all other (31.7%).

April 2021 year-to-date new motor vehicle (units) sales were up 35.1% from April 2020.

• New minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans, and buses sales were up 35.6%, while new passenger cars sales were also up 30.0%.

April 2021 year-to-date restaurant receipts were up 11.5% over the same period in 2020.

• Within restaurant receipts, drinking places (alcoholic beverages) (3.8%), Full-service restaurants (5.8%), and Limited-service eating places (17.7%) increased.
• Declines were limited to Special food services (-9.3%).

April 2021 year-to-date manufacturing sales were up by 29.5% over the same period in 2020.

• All Sub-sectors posted increases: Food manufacturing sales (34.0%), Chemical manufacturing sales (27.6%), Machinery manufacturing sales (19.3%), Fabricated metal product manufacturing sales (4.4%), and All other Manufacturing sales (33.9%).

April 2021 year-to-date wholesale trade was up 12.7% over the same period in 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm product merchant wholesalers (25.7%), Machinery, equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers (40.1%), Building material and supplies merchant wholesalers (9.9%), and all other (19.5%)
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: Food, beverage and tobacco merchant wholesalers (-21.5%) and Agricultural supplies merchant wholesalers (-0.8%).

Total International merchandise exports were up 17.7% year-to-date May 2021 over May 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm, fishing and intermediate food products (18.1%), Energy products (35.8%), Metal and non-metallic mineral products (228.6%), Forestry products and building and packaging materials (85.8%), Industrial machinery, equipment and parts (9.6%), Motor vehicles and parts (44.7%), Aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts (18.8%), and Consumer goods (35.3%).
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Metal ores and non-metallic minerals (-8.0%), Basic and industrial chemical, plastic and rubber products (-31.9%), Electronic and electrical equipment and parts (-14.0%), and Special transactions (-0.5%). 

With robust residential and public sector construction data, year-to-date June 2021 construction was up 3,200 positions or 8.5% from the same period in 2020.

Driven by low interest rates and record savings levels, total year-to-date housing starts in June 2021 were up by 1,048 units or 102.1% over the same period in 2020.

• Advances were recorded in all categories: singles (338 units or 82.2%), semi-detached (45 units or 84.9%), row (148 units or 126.5%), and apartment and other types (517 units or 116.2%).

May 2021 year-to-date building permits were up 20.4% over the same period in 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Residential (47.1%) and Institutional and governmental (62.6%).
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: Industrial (-54.6%) and Commercial (-0.4%).

June 2021 year-to-date employment in Information, culture and recreation was down -2,983 positions or -16.3% over the same period in 2020.

April 2021 year-to-date average weekly earnings in Information and cultural industries was up 4.2%.

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 on vaccine rollouts outpacing the spread of virus variants.