Statistics Canada has released its first jobs report since COVID-19 hit Saskatchewan.
The report says there were roughly 21,000 fewer jobs in the province in March than in February. About three-quarters of lost jobs were part-time.
In late March, bars, restaurants and other businesses deemed non-essential were closed by government restrictions put in place to help flatten the curve of COVID-19.
The unemployment rate in the province hit 7.3 per cent in March, two percentage points higher than it was in 2019.
Nationally, the employment rate — people over the age of 15 who are working — fell to 58.5 per cent, the lowest it has been since April 1997.
Excluding vacation time, maternity leave, labour disputes and weather challenges, there were 1.3 million employed Canadians away from work from March 15 to 21. The report says nearly 56 per cent of those people were not paid.
"The number of people who were absent all week without pay may be an indication of future job losses," the report said.
