The Aboriginal Labour Force Analysis Series Aboriginal People Living Off-reserve and the Labour Market: Estimates from the Labour Force Survey, 2007 by Dominique Pérusse

Highlights

1. For the first time, the Labour Force Survey is releasing data on Aboriginal people living off-reserve in all ten provinces. Previously, this data was only available for the Western provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
2. The employment rate for Aboriginal people aged 25 to 54 was highest in Alberta, where it reached 77.7% in 2007.The strength of the labour market appears to have benefited both non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal Albertans. It was in Alberta that the employment rate gap between the two groups was the closest. Since Aboriginal people have seen their employment rate rise more rapidly than non-Aboriginal people, the gap between the two groups has narrowed.
3. Although Saskatchewan was the province with the highest overall employment rate for persons aged 25 to 54, Aboriginal people did not benefit as much from the strong labour market conditions in 2007. This province had the widest gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal employment rates.
4. For both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, the higher the education level, the higher the employment rate. However, the gaps between the employment rates of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people persist at all education levels.
5. Among Aboriginal youth, those who finished high school were more successful in finding a job. The unemployment rate for young Aboriginal people aged 15 to 24 with high school completion or some post-secondary (12.2%) was half that of those without a high school diploma (24.1%).
6. In the Atlantic region and in each of the other provinces, employment rates for young North American Indians living off-reserve were the lowest in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, at 28.1% and 36.8% respectively. The highest youth unemployment rate by province and aboriginal identity was observed in Manitoba, where one young North American Indian in three was unemployed.