Aboriginal peoples living off-reserve and the labour market

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The employment rate of Aboriginal people between 25 and 54 years of age living off-reserve in the 10 provinces was 70.1% in 2007, and below the 82.5% for non-Aboriginal people. The difference between the employment rates for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in this age group was smallest in Alberta and largest in Saskatchewan.

For the 10 provinces in 2007, the employment rate for Aboriginal people between 25 and 54 years of age was highest in Alberta. It was also in Alberta that the employment rate for Aboriginal people (77.7%) was the closest to that of non-Aboriginal people (86.3%).

Between 2004 and 2007, the strength of Alberta's job market especially benefited Aboriginal people: the employment rate of Aboriginal people between 25 and 54 years of age rose 5.1 percentage points, whereas that of non-Aboriginal people rose 1.2 percentage points.

Chart 1
Employment rates of population aged 25 to 54 by province or region, 2007

In Saskatchewan, despite the strong growth in the employment rate of Aboriginal people living off-reserve over the last few years, the difference between the employment rate of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people was the highest in Canada. In 2007, the employment rate of Aboriginal people between 25 and 54 years of age was 66.4% in Saskatchewan, compared with 88.3% for non-Aboriginal people.

The difference between the employment rates for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people was also large in Quebec and Manitoba.

The unemployment rate for Aboriginal people between 25 and 54 years of age reached 8.8% in 2007, compared with 5.0% for non-Aboriginal people. The unemployment rate for Aboriginal people living off-reserve had fallen in each of the four western provinces since 2004, particularly in British Columbia.

In 2007, Aboriginal people living off-reserve represented a significant labour force within the labour market, given that there were 345,000 of them in the labour market in the 10 provinces. Approximately 250,600 held full-time jobs and 57,800 held part-time jobs, while 36,500 were unemployed.

Labour market integration varies with identity

With respect to employment, the situation differed depending on the Aboriginal identity.

Between 2004 and 2007, the employment rate for North American Indian people between 25 and 54 years of age living off-reserve in the western provinces grew more rapidly than that for non-Aboriginal people. Nonetheless, their employment rate in 2007 (65.7%) remained significantly lower than that of non-Aboriginal people (84.7%).

In 2007, Alberta was the province with the highest employment rate for North American Indian people between 25 and 54 years of age, or 77.1%. Ontario had the second highest rate, at 69.8%. The lowest employment rate for North American Indians living off-reserve was in Saskatchewan (56.2%).

The difference between the employment rates of North American Indian and non-Aboriginal people in 2007 was the smallest (9 percentage points) in Alberta.

The employment rate of Métis people in the western provinces has remained relatively stable since 2004, and was 76.5% in 2007.

In 2007, the highest employment rates for Métis people between 25 and 54 years of age were in Alberta (78.2%) and Manitoba (77.8%). The Métis people in the Atlantic region, Quebec and Ontario had the lowest employment rates, all in the neighbourhood of 69%.

The employment rates of Métis people were lower than those of non-Aboriginal people in all of the provinces or regions in 2007, with differences ranging from 8 to 14 percentage points.

Education reduces job disparities

Like non-Aboriginal people, Aboriginal people living off-reserve in the 10 provinces, with a higher education level, had an employment rate above that of those without a post-secondary diploma.

In 2007, the employment rate of Aboriginal people between 25 and 54 years of age with a post-secondary certificate or diploma or a university diploma was 80.2%, compared with 70.4% for those who had completed high school and 51.2% for those who had not.

Education also enabled Aboriginal people to reduce the employment rate differences separating them from non-Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people with a post-secondary certificate or diploma or a university degree had an employment rate 6.3 percentage points lower than their non-Aboriginal counterparts.

In contrast, the employment rate of those without a high school diploma was 14.3 percentage points lower. Still, differences remained between the employment rates of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people for all levels of education.

Unemployment is high among young Aboriginal people who did not finish high school

Although the unemployment rate was already high among young non-Aboriginal people (11.0%), it was even more so among young Métis (14.9%) and young North American Indian people living off-reserve (18.7%).

The unemployment rate for young Aboriginal people was half as high among those with high school completion or some post-secondary (12.2%) as among those who had no high school diploma (24.1%).

The employment rate of young Aboriginal people who had finished high school or completed some post-secondary studies was 64.1%, which was comparable to that of their non-Aboriginal counterparts (65.9%).

Chart 2
Labour force characteristics of youths aged 15 to 24 by educational attainment, 2007

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3701.

The study, "Aboriginal people living off-reserve and the labour market: Estimates from the Labour Force Survey, 2007," is now available as part of The Aboriginal Labour Force Analysis Series (71-588-XWE2008001, free). From the Publications module of our website, under All subjects, choose Labour.

For general information or to order data, contact Client Services (toll-free 1-866-873-8788; 613-951-4090; labour@statcan.gc.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact, Dominique Pérusse (613-951-4064; dominique.perusse@statcan.gc.ca), or Christel Le Petit (613-951-3856; christel.lepetit@statcan.gc.ca), Labour Statistics Division.

Table 1
Labour force characteristics of population aged 25 to 54 by educational attainment, 2007