July 2021 year-to-date retail trade was up by 14.6% over the same period in 2020.  

• All sub-sectors posted increases: New car dealers (18.3%), Used car dealers (48.1%), Gasoline stations (13.4%), Furniture and home furnishings stores (33.7%), Electronics and appliance stores (9.9%), Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (32.5%), Health and personal care stores (4.6%), Clothing and clothing accessories stores (36.0%), Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (39.4%), Grocery stores (0.8%), Beer, wine and liquor stores (8.6%), General merchandise stores (14.5%), and all other (14.5%).

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

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

July 2021 year-to-date restaurant receipts were up 19.9% over the same period in 2020.

• Within restaurant receipts, all subsectors posted increases: Special food services (15.1%), Drinking places (alcoholic beverages) (14.8%), Full-service restaurants (21.8%), and Limited-service eating places (19.6%). 

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

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: 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%).

July 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%), Agricultural supplies merchant wholesalers (-0.7%).

Total International merchandise exports were up 19.9% year-to-date August 2021 over August 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were:  Farm, fishing and intermediate food products (10.4%), Energy products (60.6%), Metal and non-metallic mineral products (251.2%), Forestry products and building and packaging materials (98.0%), Industrial machinery, equipment and parts (19.1%), Motor vehicles and parts (27.6%), Aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts (18.4%), and Consumer goods (22.6%).
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Metal ores and non-metallic minerals (-1.3%), Basic and industrial chemical, plastic and rubber products (-26.0%), Electronic and electrical equipment and parts (-0.4%), and Special transactions (-0.6%).

With robust residential and non-residential construction data, August 2021 year-to-date construction employment was up 2,911 positions or 7.3% from the same period in 2020.

On the strength of a September surge in apartment construction (September 2021 against September 2020), total year-to-date housing starts were up by 922 units or 44.6%. 

• Year-to-date increases were observed in all categories: singles (359 units or 48.1%), semi-detached (55 units or 64.0%), row (124 units or 44.1%), apartment and other types (384 units or 40.3%).

August 2021 year-to-date building permits were up 30.4% over the same period in 2020. 

• All sub-sectors that posted increases were: residential (31.2%), industrial (17.5%), commercial (23.6%), and institutional and governmental (98.0%).      

September 2021 year-to-date employment in Information, culture and recreation was down -1,478 positions or -8.0% over the same period in 2020.

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

The Q3 2021 provincial population was up 0.05% or 544 persons over 2020 Q3 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.