The Northwest Territories employment rate stood at 65.7 per cent in March (seasonally unadjusted), the lowest for March since 2021, according to the NWT Bureau of Statistics.
Eighty-nine per cent of the territory's 22,600 workers were employed full-time while 11 per cent were toiling part-time.
The employment rate dipped by four per cent between March 2023 and March 2024, a loss of 1,100 workers, with the private sector shedding those jobs, the bureau reported.
The unemployment rate measured five per cent in March, essentially the same as one year earlier, but it registered as low as 2.4 per cent in October 2023 and as high as 8.8 per cent in July 2023. Nationally, the unemployment rate was 6.1 per cent in March.
Employment losses in the NWT were felt most heavily in construction, trade, forestry, fishing and mining in March. Gains, meanwhile, were realized in accommodation and food services, utilities and education.
The average weekly wage, including overtime, for all employees in the NWT hit $1,656.42 as of February, Statistics Canada reported. Hourly workers came in at $1,159.01 weekly compared to $2,152.57 weekly for salaried employees.
Demographic breakdown
In terms of demographics, the territory's Indigenous workforce, comprising 9,100 individuals, had an employment rate of 51 per cent and an unemployment rate of 12.1 per cent as of February. The participation rate in the workforce measured 58 per cent.
Non-Indigenous members of the workforce, totalling 15,000 people, realized an employment rate of 78 per cent in February and an unemployment rate of 2.7 per cent. The participation rate was 80.6 per cent.
Young workers struggled to find jobs more than their older counterparts in February, which is a common phenomenon. The employment rate among the 2,500 people aged 15-24 was just 38.2 per cent while the unemployment rate was a lofty 16 per cent. The participation rate 45.5 per cent, which is on the lower end of the range over the past few years.
Workers aged 25 and over, who constitute 21,500 members of the NWT labour force, were 70.8 per cent employed, 5.1 per cent unemployed and participated in the workforce at a rate of 74.7 per cent.
When it comes to gender, women fared better with an employment rate of 66.5 per cent and unemployment rate of 4.3 per cent in February. There were 11,600 women in the labour force at a participation rate of 69.5 per cent.
While men outnumbered women in the labour force (12,400 of them), they had a lesser employment rate (64.8 per cent) and a higher unemployment rate (8.1 per cent). However, at 70.5 per cent, the participation rate among men eclipsed that of women in February.
Geographically speaking, Yellowknife's statistics were superior to the rest of the territory. Those outside of the NWT capital had an employment rate of 54.1 per cent and an unemployment rate of 9.5 per cent in February. The participation in the labour force was 60.5 per cent, representing 9,500 people.
Yellowknife's 14,600-strong labour force enjoyed an employment rate of 75.3 per cent, an unemployment rate of 4.1 per cent and a participation rate of 78.5 per cent.
Public service closing in on $1 billion in compensation
There were 6,481 territorial government employees as of 2022-23, according to the GNWT's Public Service Annual Report. The total paid in compensation that year was $918.9 million.
The average bureaucrat was 44 years old and had typically worked for the government for eight years.
Indigenous workers represented 40 per cent of government employees
Women comprised 66 per cent of public servants, including 57 per cent in management roles.
The North Slave region hosted 53.4 per cent of public service jobs. That was followed by the South Slave (15 per cent), the Beaufort Delta (14 per cent), the Dehcho (6.4 per cent), the Tlicho (6.2 per cent) and the Sahtu (5 per cent).
Indigenous income gaps
The NWT had the largest gap in median income between First Nations and the non-Indigenous population, according to the 2021 census. For "registered Indians living off reserve" in the NWT, as Statistics Canada identified them, the wage gap was $41,400 compared to the non-Indigenous population.
Among "non-status Indians," the difference in the median wage in the NWT was second highest at $20,000 less than non-Indigenous residents. The highest was Nunavut with a $24,000 difference.
For Metis residents of the NWT, the median wage gap was $10,000.
The median income for "registered Indians on reserve" in the NWT was $39,200 while it was $47,600 for "registered Indians off reserve," $79,000 for Metis and $89,000 for non-Indigenous workers.
Fact file
NWT average weekly earnings by industry (February 2024)
Mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction: $2,832.16
Goods producing industries: $2,240.97
Public administration: $1,870.30
Professional, scientific and technical services: $1,725.48
Healthcare and social assistance: $1,747.51
Educational services: $1,697.85
Finance and insurance: $1,677.49
Wholesale trade: $1,668.86
Construction $1,646.47
Service-producing industries: $1,515.86
Transportation and warehousing: $1,479.29
Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services: $1,191.14
Arts, entertainment and recreation: $1,130.81
Trade: $853.89
Retail trade: $765.07
Accommodation and food services: $696.11
Source: Statistics Canada