Saskatchewan's southwest economic region, comprised of the Swift Current and Moose Jaw area, has shown a stable rate of employment, according to a new Statistics Canada report.

From their report of last month, Swift Current and Moose Jaw combined have a labour force numbering 55,800, up 2,600 people since last year.

In January of 2019, 2,500 people were unemployed in the area, but this January, that number was down to around 2,400.

Canada currently sits at an unemployment rate of 5.5 per cent, showing Southwest Saskatchewan is 1.2 per cent below the national average at 4.3 per cent. Even better, the Southwest region's unemployment rate dropped 0.4 per cent lower compared to a year prior.

Other increases is stats include the participation rate at 69.4 per cent; an increase of 3.6 percent from last year, as well as the employment rate currently at 66.4 per cent; an increase of 3.9 per cent from 2019's January.

Population numbers from January 2019 to January 2020 in the region went from 80,900 to 80,400. Five-hundred fewer people were reported.

Saskatchewan's Southwest region has 53,400 employed people meaning an additional 2,800 more people working since last year, yet 24,600 people not in the workforce; a decrease from 27,700 in the last January of the 2010s.

The region continues to do better than Canada as a whole with the employment rate at 66.4 per cent ( 62.5 per cent last year) and Canada currently at 61.4 per cent as of last month.