Canada's Changing Labour Force, 2006 Census: The provinces and territories

Aboriginal peoples in the workforce

Unemployment rates decline more rapidly for Aboriginal peoples

The unemployment rate among core working-age Aboriginal people in 2006 was 13.2%, down 4.2 percentage points from 17.4% in 2001. At the same time, the unemployment rate among non-Aboriginal people declined by only 0.8 percentage points to 5.2% in 2006. Although their unemployment rate has experienced a larger decline, Aboriginal people remain more than twice as likely as non-Aboriginal people to be unemployed.

Unemployment rates were down from 2001 for all three Aboriginal groups. In 2006, the unemployment rate for Inuit aged 25 to 54 was 19.0%, down from 20.7% in 2001. For the population who identified as Métis, the unemployment rate was 8.4% in 2006, down from 12.5% five years earlier. Among the First Nations, the unemployment rate was 16.3% in 2006, down from 20.3% in 2001.

The rate of unemployment also declined on reserve, but was still higher than the off-reserve unemployment rate, for both the First Nations identity population and the Registered Indian population.

In 2006, among the First Nations identity population living on reserve, the unemployment rate was 23.1%, down from 26.0% in 2001. However, this was still almost twice the rate of unemployment for First Nations people living off reserve. In 2006, the unemployment rate was 12.3% for the off-reserve First Nations population, down from 16.6% in 2001.

Similar trends were observed for the Registered Indian population living on and off reserve. In 2006, among Registered Indians living on reserve, the unemployment rate was 23.0%, down from 25.9% in 2001. The unemployment rate was lower among Registered Indians living off reserve at 13.1% in 2006, down from 17.9% five years earlier.

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