February 2021 year-to-date retail trade was up by 3.4% over the same period in 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Used car dealers (10.5%), Furniture and home furnishings stores (6.1%), Electronics and appliance stores (17.8%), Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (29.3%), Health and personal care stores (1.0%), Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (15.5%), Grocery stores (8.3%), Beer, wine and liquor stores (21.1%), General merchandise stores (12.3%), and All other (5.1%).
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: New car dealers (-3.2%), Gasoline stations (-13.0%), and Clothing and clothing accessories stores (-20.3%).

February 2021 year-to-date new motor vehicle (units) sales were down -7.2% from February 2020. New minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses sales were up 6.1%, while new passenger cars sales were down -16.9%.

February 2021 year-to-date restaurant receipts were down -13.9% over the same period in 2020. Within restaurant receipts, all sub-categories saw declines: Special food services (-33.9%), Drinking places (alcoholic beverages) (-48.9%), Full-service restaurants (-23.1%), and Limited-service eating places (-1.2%).

February 2021 year-to-date manufacturing sales are up by 10.7% over the same period in 2020. All sub-sectors posted increases: Food manufacturing sales (18.5%), Chemical manufacturing sales (7.3%), Machinery manufacturing sales (6.6%), Fabricated metal product manufacturing sales (5.4%), and All other Manufacturing sales (9.8%).

February 2021 year-to-date wholesale trade was up 8.8% over the same period in 2020. 

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm product merchant wholesalers (19.4%), Agricultural supplies merchant wholesalers (4.5%), Machinery, equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers (34.4%), and All other (7.9%).
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: Food, beverage and tobacco merchant wholesalers (-28.8%), and Building material and supplies merchant wholesalers (-7.5%).

Total International merchandise exports were up 13.9% year-to-date March 2021 over March 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm, fishing and intermediate food products (28.7%), Energy products (3.5%), Metal and non-metallic mineral products (143.6%), Forestry products and building and packaging materials (62.5%), Industrial machinery, equipment and parts (8.1%), Electronic and electrical equipment and parts (13.8%), Motor vehicles and parts (14.1%), Aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts (11.5%), and Consumer goods (34.2%).
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Metal ores and non-metallic minerals (-15.3%), Basic and industrial chemical, plastic and rubber products (-45.2%), and Special transactions (-10.3%).     

With robust residential and public sector construction data, year-to-date April 2021 construction was up 1,525 positions or 4.1% from the same period in 2020.

Driven by low interest rates and record savings levels, April 2021 total year-to-date housing starts were up by 666 units or 101.4% over the same period in 2020.

• Year-to-date increases were observed in all sub categories: singles (176 units or 71.5%), semi-detached (46 units or 219.0%), row (58 units or 64.4%), and apartment and other types (386 units or 128.7%).

March 2021 year-to-date building permits were down -4.1% over the same period in 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: residential (51.2%), institutional and governmental (130.6%).
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: industrial (-71.0%), and commercial (-41.4%).

April 2021 year-to-date employment in Information, culture and recreation was down -6,558 positions or -33.6% over the same period in 2020.

February 2021 year-to-date average weekly earnings in Information and cultural industries was up 3.1%.

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, 2020, 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.