Saguenay–Lac-St-Jean (02) Region - Socioeconomic Profile

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Region and Population

• In 2009, the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean was divided into 5 RCMs and comprised 49 municipalities and 11 territories.
• The region covered 7.3% of the area of the Province of Quebec in 2009 (95,892.8 km²).
• With a population of 273,264 in 2009, the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean accounted for 3.5% of Quebec’s population.
• The ISQ forecasts a population decline (-7.0%) in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean between 2006 and 2031 (+15.8% in Quebec) and significant aging of the population owing to
  • Natural decrease (deaths > births starting in 2014);
  • Negative inter-regional net migration (exodus of young people and retirees)
• Between 2006 and 2031, the ISQ predicts a 14.2-percentage-point decrease in persons of working age (20-64 years), from 63.0% to 48.8%, which is lower than the Quebec percentage (-9.3 percentage points, from 63.4% to 54.1%).

Distribution of the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean’s population by age

Source: Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ).

The Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean’s inter-regional net migration by age (2004-2009)

Source: Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ).

Labour Market

• In 2009, there were 119,900 people with jobs in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, a 2.3% decrease from 2008, and the region accounted for 3.1% of people with jobs in Quebec (3,844,200 jobs).
• In 2009, the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean recorded an unemployment rate that was 1.5 percentage points higher than the Quebec average (10.0% vs. 8.5%).
• The Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean’s employment and labour participation rates in 2009, 53.8% and 59.7% respectively, were still lower than Quebec rates (59.7% and 65.2%).
• The ISQ anticipates increased labour scarcity in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, forecasting that the labour replacement index will drop from 94% to 57% between 2006 and 2021, and then rise to 82% by 2031.

Economic Activities

• In 2008, the gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices (in current $) was $8,907.8 M in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region, accounting for 3.1% of Quebec’s GDP ($283,217 M).
• GDP per job, an approximation of labour productivity, was $74,681 in 2006 in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, compared with $77,678 for all of Quebec. The Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean’s productivity would therefore be slightly lower than Quebec’s.
• The key sectors in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean are:
  • Agri-food
  • Aluminum
  • Biomedicine and genomics
  • Construction and engineering
  • Hydropower
  • Machinery, tools, equipment and parts
  • Industrial minerals
  • Wood products
  • Tourism
• The primary sector accounted for 3.9% of the workforce in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean in 2006 (compared with 2.6% in Quebec), the construction sector for 3.8% (2.9%), the manufacturing sector for 15.7% (15.4%) and the tertiary sector for 76.6% (79.0%).

In 2009, tourism in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean generated 4,200 jobs and 1,226 businesses were involved in the tourism sector.

• The Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean was visited by 953,000 tourists, who spent a total of $184 M in the region (2008).
• Although only 11.6% of tourists came from outside Quebec, they accounted for 20.1% of total spending (2008).

Businesses

Distribution of businesses by size (2009)

Micro = 1-4 employees, Small = 5-19 employees, Medium = 20-199 employees, Large and very large = 200 employees or more
Source: Statistics Canada, Business Register (June 2009).

• The main non-governmental employers (500+ employees) are:
  • Abitibi-Bowater (paper manufacturing)
  • Bleuets Sauvages du Québec (wholesaler-distributor)
  • Rio Tinto Alcan (aluminum and hydroelectricity)
  • Usine de Congélation Saint-Bruno (food processing)
• In terms of entrepreneurship, the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean had 39.4 SMEs per 1,000 residents in 2009, ranking 7th out of 16 Quebec regions (average of 37.6 SMEs per 1,000 residents in Quebec).

Exports

In 2007, the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean had 102 exporting establishments and the value of exports was $3,591.9 M, accounting for 5.1% of Quebec exports.

• Although 88.2% of the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean’s exporting establishments are SMEs, they accounted for only 38.8% of the value of exports (2007).
• The United States is the main destination for the region’s exports (94.8% of the total value), followed by the European Union (2.9%) (2007).

Investment, research and innovation

• Public investment increased by 0.7% in 2009 to $469.5 M, accounting for 26.0% of total capital expenditures in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean ($1,804.7 M). The region’s public investment comprised 2.3% of Quebec public investment in 2009. Over the period of 2004 to 2009, public investment grew at an average annual rate of 1.1% in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, compared with12.4% in Quebec.
• Private investment dropped by 2.7% in 2009 to $1,335.2 M, accounting for 74.0% of all capital expenditures in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean ($1,804.7 M). The region’s private investment accounted for 3.3% of Quebec private investment in 2009. Over the period of 2004 to 2009, private investment grew at an average annual rate of 1.9% in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, compared with 0.9 % in Quebec.

Highest level of educational attainment, 25-64 years (2006)

* Diplomas or certificates from trade schools, nursing schools, community colleges, CEGEPs, university certificate below bachelor’s level, etc.
Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census.

Examples of research, expertise, training and technology transfer centres in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean:

• Centre des technologies de l'aluminium du CNRC
• Centre québécois de recherche et de développement de l'aluminium
• Consortium de recherche en exploration minérale
• Centres collégiaux de transfert de technologie (CCTT):
  • Agrinova - Recherche et innovation en agriculture
  • Centre de géomatique du Québec
  • Centre de production automatisée
  • ÉCOBES – Groupe d’Étude des Conditions de vie et des Besoins de la population

Economic Well-Being

• In 2008, the per capita GDP in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean was $32,402, that is, $4,140, or 11.3% below the Quebec average ($36,542).
• Personal disposable income per capita for the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean was $23,291 in 2008, that is, $2,212, or 8.7% below the Quebec average ($25,504/resident). The Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean ranked 12th out of the 17 regions.
• In 2008, per capita government transfers to the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean ($6,272 /resident) were 13.6% higher than the Quebec average ($5,523 /resident).
• However, the percentage of the population in a situation of low income after tax was higher in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean (13.8%) than in the province as a whole (15.2%).