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At more than one full point above the national average, Saskatchewan has the highest unemployment rate of any province outside the Maritimes, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

That translates to more than 43,000 Saskatchewan residents — or 7.1 per cent of the provincial labour force — looking for a job but unable to find one, up from 40,600 at the same time last year.

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Unemployment rate growth is typically attributable to a decline in the number of jobs — 3,000 over the last 12 months — and the size of the labour force, which contracted by 2,000 people since July 2017.

Broken out by city, Saskatoon’s unemployment rate hit seven per cent last month, down from 8.1 per cent a year ago, while Regina’s climbed 1.2 points to 6.6 per cent over the same period.

By comparison, the government data bureau reported Friday, the national economy added 215,400 jobs over the last 12 months while the number of people working or looking for work increased by 140,300.