My first rifle was a SVT. I absolutely love it. I don't know a whole lot about the factories and the like, so someone else will have to answer that part. However when it comes to shooting/hunting, all I'll say is that the SKS ammo is cheaper and the SVT fires a round roughly equivalent to a .308.
If you plan to use it hunting, it rather depends on what you plan to hunt. If you plan to hunt Moose with it, the SVT has the knock down power you're looking for (and surplus ammo is approximately $0.30 a round depending on where you get it) if you hunting something smaller like deer, a SKS should be fine (I've never hunted deer, so I'm no expert) and the surplus ammo is quite a bit cheaper (maybe $0.15 a round? maybe, I've never bought the stuff so I'm not really sure).
If you plan to shoot a lot of bullets, the SKS recoil is quite bit less than the SVT. With respect to cleaning, the first couple times is going to be a pain regardless of which one you buy. But you get used to it after a while and it becomes no big deal.
Hopefully this gives you some useful information and helps you make you decision.
On a final note, I'd probably buy another SVT before I buy a SKS simply because there are a lot less SVTs out there, and most likely the price will only go up from where it is now.
