August 2021 year-to-date retail trade was up 13.5% over the same period in 2020. 

• All sub-sectors posted increases: New car dealers (14.1%), Used car dealers (47.2%), Gasoline stations (15.2%), Furniture and home furnishings stores (30.5%), Electronics and appliance stores (6.9%), Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (30.7%), Health and personal care stores (4.3%), Clothing and clothing accessories stores (31.7%), Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (33.8%), Grocery stores (0.7%), Beer, wine and liquor stores (7.3%), General merchandise stores (13.6%), and all other (14.8%).

August 2021 year-to-date new motor vehicle (units) sales were up 20.6% from August 2020.

• New minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses sales were up 20.3%, while new passenger cars sales were up 22.9%.

August 2021 year-to-date restaurant receipts were up 20.1% over the same period in 2020.

• Within restaurant receipts, all categories saw increases: Special food services (15.8%), Drinking places (alcoholic beverages) (14.7%), Full-service restaurants (22.1%), and Limited-service eating places (19.7%).

August 2021 year-to-date manufacturing sales were up by 39.7% over the same period in 2020. 

• All sub-sectors posted increases: Food manufacturing sales (37.6%), Chemical manufacturing sales (24.2%), Machinery manufacturing sales (20.9%), Fabricated metal product manufacturing sales (7.7%), and all other Manufacturing sales (57.4%).     

August 2021 year-to-date wholesale trade was up 10.0% over the same period in 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm product merchant wholesalers (32.5%), Machinery, equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers (27.8%), Building material and supplies merchant wholesalers (13.6%), and all other (20.4%). 
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Food, beverage and tobacco merchant wholesalers (-18.2%) and Agricultural supplies merchant wholesalers (-0.7%).

Total International merchandise exports were up 22.5% year-to-date September 2021 over September 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm, fishing and intermediate food products (13.1%), Energy products (62.7%), Metal ores and non-metallic minerals (1.7%), Metal and non-metallic mineral products (242.4%), Forestry products and building and packaging materials (83.9%), Industrial machinery, equipment and parts (19.9%), Motor vehicles and parts (32.9%), Aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts (23.9%), and Consumer goods (17.4%).
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Basic and industrial chemical, plastic and rubber products (-14.1%), Electronic and electrical equipment and parts (-0.8%), and Special transactions (-1.2%).        

Reflecting on the impact of robust construction activity in both the residential and non-residential sectors, year-to-date October 2021 construction employment was up 2,970 positions or 7.4% from the same period in 2020.

Fueled by low borrowing costs and higher than expected levels of savings, October 2021 total year-to-date housing starts were up by 949 units or 41.9% over the same period in 2020. 

• Year-to-date increases were observed in all categories: singles (355 units or 40.1%), semi-detached (64 units or 66.0%), row (130 units or 41.1%), and apartment and other types (400 units or 41.4%).

September 2021 year-to-date building permits, the leading indicator of construction activity, were up 32.3% over the same period in 2020. 

• All sub-sectors posted increases: residential (35.7%), industrial (4.7%), commercial (28.8%), and institutional and governmental (72.4%).

October 2021 year-to-date employment in Information, culture and recreation was down -1,010 positions or -5.6% over the same period in 2020.

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

The Q3 2021 provincial population was up 0.05% or 544 persons over Q3 2020 to 1,179,844. Contributing to slow population growth was the pandemic-related drop in international in-migration. International in-migration has dropped from a peak of 5,507 in Q3 2019 to 1,769 in Q2 2021. 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.  

However, in its October 2021 monetary statement, the Bank of Canada indicated that the main forces pushing up prices (higher energy prices and pandemic-related supply bottlenecks) appear to be stronger and more persistent than expected. The Bank is closely watching inflation and labour costs to ensure that the temporary factors pushing up prices do not become entrenched in ongoing inflation.

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.