The latest job numbers are out and it is another record month for Saskatchewan.
The jobless rate is 4.7% — the second lowest in Canada.
The number of people employed stood at 541,600 — a record for October.
Regina Chamber of Commerce CEO John Hopkins says he is encouraged by the numbers, but he says a greater effort needs to be made to improve the Aboriginal employment rate.
“If we don’t get this right, the impact is going to be significant on the province. So, we really need to focus in on doing things that are going to move us closer and closer to that goal.”
The off-reserve First Nations unemployment rate is about 21%, while the figure is about 9.4% for Metis.
The Statistics Canada report also showed that Metis employment declined by 900 over the last year and 1,000 Metis people dropped out of the labour force.
For First Nations people living off-reserve, there was no change in the number of people employed, while the labour force shrunk by 500.
NDP employment critic Cam Broten says it appears many Aboriginal people have simply given up looking for work, “perhaps because of discouragement”.