The Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority says, two reports – one for Saskatoon and the other for Saskatchewan – are suggesting tempered growth for the local economy. The Saskatoon Region economy is seen to be fairly stable overall, although provincial growth projections for 2018 have been reduced. For the second quarter, SREDA has maintained a b-grade for the local economy. The forecast for Q3 is 1.5 per cent growth for the province which would be a decrease of 0.5 per cent from earlier projections. SREDA thinks the province’s economy will grow at a rate of 1.8 per cent next year, down from the previous forecast of 2.1 per cent.
The province is expected to fully recover the 2016-17 job losses by 2019. Retail sales are forecast to increase 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent this year and next. That’s a downward revision reflecting the impact of rising interest rates and sluggish job growth. An inventory glut and softening demand are expected to continue weighing down residential construction resulting in housing starts averaging 25 per cent below 2017 levels, before rebounding next year.