The latest job numbers come from Sask Trends Monitor, Saskatchewan’s preeminent statistics publication and clearly show a disturbing trend of rapid government expansion. Overall employment grew by 1.4 per cent in the first seven months of the reporting year – well below the 2.1 per cent growth in Alberta and 1.7 per cent growth in Manitoba, but above the national average of 1.1 per cent.
Dig a little deeper into the numbers and you find that private sector employment grew by 1.7 per cent, while government employment grew nearly twice as fast. In fact, there are 5,000 more government employees today then there were back in 2002 – a staggering statistic given Saskatchewan’s stagnant population growth. What’s worse is that almost all of the new job growth is taken by people 55 years or older, which means we’re not attracting or keeping any young people in Saskatchewan.
Of course, this doesn’t stop the government from trumpeting their overwhelming success in economic development. Industry Minister Eric Cline said the job increases are a “testament to the diversification and strength of Saskatchewan’s economy.”
The economy is diverse if by “diverse” you mean the difference between various government departments. Cline also warns that this growth is a “double-edged sword” in that they are now having trouble filling some positions.
For taxpayers, an unfilled government position isn’t a liability, it’s a blessing.
Since 1995, our provincial government has grown its payroll by 12,190 bodies and hiked the average wage by 22 per cent. The number of working people sticking around in Saskatchewan to pay these wages is in slow but steady decline.
In 2002, 22.1 percent of Saskatchewan employees were on the public sector payroll.
This summer a budget stalemate in the state of Minnesota threatened to shut off the goverment funding tap completely. The news item I caught mentioned that legislators had even failed to reach agreement on emergency funding – raising the possibility that 5,000 state employees might go without pay cheques. As of 2000, Minnesota has a population of just under 5 million.
(Thanks to David MacLean of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, for sending this along)
Will the word ‘profit’ ever be rehabilitated in the minds of the Saskatchewan people. I hope they recognize the need to link that word with the word employment.
If it looks like a pig at the trough, if it smells rotton, if is larded with unhealthy fat, then it is a Liberano. This same swill trick was performed in the ‘petry dish’ of the Liberano/NDp experimental station – the Yukon. Today the once healthy land of the entrepreneur is a Liberano welfare nowhere place. Every person who ‘works’, works for the government, or is dependant on the ‘spin- off’ of government largese. This is Absolute control, in it’s most basic economic form, introduced in Russia in 1917-21; in the same manner, by Mr. Lenin and the Bolshoviks. Most former residents of this once legendary outpost of rugged individuals who thought and acted for themselves have long ago left for Alberta or Unuited States. The Yukon is now peopled by a grey mass of government employees from Liberano/NDp quarters; these people are lured here with promises of high wages and plump perks – eg. no heath care premiums, 2 ‘free’ return fare trips for each employee and his/her family anywhere in the country (back to their ‘real homes’) per year, subsidized housing and ‘other bill- paying perks’, the healthy nothern living tax deduction, etc. etc.
With it’s creepy Calvert and strange voting pattern, I would advise the healthy Southern Sask. people to get out of that weird NDP/Liberano provice – not just themselves, take your land too!! I was born in the beautiful Cypress Hills in Southern Sask., I know all about the CCF/NDp and the Liberanos in Sask. Government jobs = more Liberano/NDp votes = a large ‘collective farm’ for the province – government owned and operated! They will tax and spend the independant farmers right out of business.
I hope it never happens but the ‘writing is on the wall’ as they said in Berlin. The Yukon is the prototype and Sask is next in the Liberano/NDp “plan” from the looks of this suspicious bit of news.
I won’t even do my usual rant about the Fraser institute but I do have a question.
I found this in the comments in the PDF:
Note: Provincial/state and local government employment includes employees of government business enterprises at provincial/state and local
levels.
I agree that Sask has way too many public sector employees but if this statistic includes SaskTel, SaskEnergy, SaskPower, SaskWater, etc. then I’m less concerned about it. Anyone know if these are included or not?
Wow, that’s terrible. I sense a dim future ahead for Sasatchewan.
Actually Todd, I don’t think Crown employees are included. I received a figure from a different source a couple of weeks ago that placed the payroll at around 20,000 as well and it was thought that Crown employees were excluded.
Unfortunately, I had purged that source cleaning out my email.
If you find out though, let me know.
No doubt Saskatchewan has an industrial park or two. Places where free enterprise ventures can get started with low overhead allowing better odds at getting over the Five year hump.
I do not recall reading about winning ventures from, say, Saskatoon.
One possible idea; With the rising cost of oil and gasoline, using bottled gas could give a freight trucking business an advantage.
A fleet of tractors converted to use steel bottled compressed gas as they do in Italy could be a profitable venture.
Seems yard and warehouse space would be reasonable too.
I understand that a short drill hole in anyone’s back yard East of Lloydminster is likely to deliver gas. It may need cleaning and compression, but there is no need for a refinery as far as I know.
Just musing here. There may already be fleet trucks using compressed gas.73s TG
I just learned from an ex-Albertan neighbour
that this auto-motive fuel was provided for free to any-one in the Rocky-Mountain area who cared to convert their vehicle to its use.
He did not know for how many months the offer lasted, but many did profit from the free fuel for some time.
Recently there have been new discoveries of natural gas reserves. Enough to supply all of North America for the next 200 years.
Pumpers and pipline companies prefer this be kept quiet so as to prevent protests when gas rates are raised. Companies like Serasen Gas.
Anyone ever heard of free offers to promote the popularity of natural gas for auto use?
Guess I should convert my Jeep Wagoneer eh? 73s TG
http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com/archives/1195-.html
Bill Weld for Gov (of NY)? It’s difficult not to like the guy. Click here: Weld Eyeing NY Gov Race Star Parker on why blacks are moving away from the Dems (Click here: Star Parker: New ideas? ):It is ironic that Democratic strategists cannot seem to grasp