April's labour force statistics were released by Stats Canada last week, once again they shine favourably on the southwest region of the province.

Saskatchewan's southwest part of the province which includes the City of Swift Current and the City of Moose Jaw has been recognized as the second lowest unemployment rate region in Canada for the sixth consecutive month.

The unemployment rate for the region is 3.9%, a rate decrease of 0.3% from April of 2016.

Included in the statistics released for the month of April are the population numbers for the area, along with the labour force and employment numbers.

The southwest part of the province saw a decrease in all three categories with the population declining by approximately 500 residents since this time last year, the labour force dropping about 900 and the employment in the area fell by about 800 as well.

The province of Saskatchewan had the fourth lowest unemployment rate among the provinces at 6.7% a decrease of .2% from this time last year.

"We are still feeling the impact of low resource prices, but job numbers are steady with last year’s which is good news," Economy Minister with the Government of Saskatchewan Jeremy Harrison said. "Steady job numbers along with recent positive economic indicators including wholesale trade, retail sales and manufacturing sales are on the up-swing which is definitely encouraging."

Canada's unemployment rate is 7.0 %, a decrease of 7.6% from April of 2017.

Below is a side-by-side comparison with 2016's unemployment stats, courtesy of Stats Canada.