October 2021 year-to-date retail trade was up by 11.8% over the same period in 2020.  

• All sub-sectors posted increases: New car dealers (8.6%), Used car dealers (26.8%), Gasoline stations (17.4%), Furniture and home furnishings stores (22.7%), Electronics and appliance stores (1.1%), Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (24.7%), Health and personal care stores (5.4%), Clothing and clothing accessories stores (22.7%), Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (20.8%), Grocery stores (2.9%), Beer, wine and liquor stores (5.4%), General merchandise stores (14.0%), and all other (13.6%).

October 2021 year-to-date new motor vehicle (units) sales were up 3.0% from October 2020. New minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses sales were up 2.2% while new passenger cars sales were also up 10.2%.

October 2021 year-to-date restaurant receipts were up 17.4% over the same period in 2020.

• Within restaurant receipts, all sub-categories posted increases: Special food services (26.3%), Drinking places (alcoholic beverages) (17.6%), Full-service restaurants (26.8%), and Limited-service eating places (18.1%).

October 2021 year-to-date manufacturing sales were up by 42.7% over the same period in 2020. 

• All sub-sectors posted increases: Food manufacturing sales (38.0%), Machinery manufacturing sales (25.4%), Fabricated metal product manufacturing sales (4.7%), and all other Manufacturing sales (52.7%).  

October 2021 year-to-date wholesale trade was up 11.8% over the same period in 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm product merchant wholesalers (34.4%), Agricultural supplies merchant wholesalers (6.0%), Machinery, equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers (18.3%), Building material and supplies merchant wholesalers (10.0%), and all other (25.0%).
•  Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Food, beverage and tobacco merchant wholesalers (-15.6%).    

Total International merchandise exports were up 24.5% year-to-date November 2021 over November 2020.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm, fishing and intermediate food products (8.6%), Energy products (71.4%), Metal ores and non-metallic minerals (15.1%), Metal and non-metallic mineral products (356.7%), Forestry products and building and packaging materials (68.5%), Industrial machinery, equipment and parts (19.6%), Electronic and electrical equipment and parts (4.4%), Motor vehicles and parts (21.1%), and Consumer goods (14.4%).
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Basic and industrial chemical, plastic and rubber products (-7.1%), Aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts (-51.8%), and Special transactions (-2.0%).

Consistent with strong construction activity in both the residential and non-residential sectors, year-to-date December 2021 construction employment was up by 3,075 positions or 7.7% from the same period in 2020.   

Fueled by low interest rates, higher than expected levels of savings, and new enthusiasm for work-from-home solutions, December 2021 total year-to-date housing starts were up by 949 units or 33.8% over the same period in 2020. 

• Year-to-date increases were observed in all categories: singles (308 units or 26.9%), semi-detached (63 units or 41.2%), row (162 units or 40.7%), apartment and other types (416 units or 37.5%).

November 2021 year-to-date building permits, a leading indicator of construction activity, were up 31.3% over the same period in 2020. 

• All sub-sectors posted increases: residential (33.8%), industrial (0.6%), commercial (32.8%), and institutional and governmental (56.6%).

December 2021 year-to-date employment in Information, culture and recreation was down -342 positions or -2.0% 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. 

After decreasing by -5.2% in 2020, Saskatchewan’s real GDP expanded by 3.8% in 2021. According to the Conference Board of Canada in its December 2021 forecast, the province's real GDP is forecasted to grow by 4.3% in 2022.

In 3 rapid rate cuts on March 4, March 13, and March 27 2020, the Bank of Canada cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.25. In its July 2021 economic outlook, the Bank indicated that it would keep the rate at near-zero until the economy is ready to handle an increase in rates. However, in its January 26, 2022 monetary policy report, the central bank indicated that the economy is now operating at full capacity with inflation no longer viewed as transitory. Canadians should be prepared for rate increases as early as the bank’s next meeting in March.