Today, ATB celebrates National Indigenous Peoples Day to show our support, and to recognize and honour the history, culture and diversity of Indigenous Peoples in Alberta and across Canada. While we celebrate on June 21, our commitment of advancing Inclusion and Reconciliation happens 365 days a year.

This morning’s Owl highlights recent labour market trends specific to Alberta’s Indigenous population using the results of Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey, which includes the off-reserve Indigenous population.*

The off-reserve Indigenous population has grown at a rapid rate, rising to 5.6% of Alberta’s total working age population (i.e., 15 years and older) from 4.0% in 2006 (which is as far back as the current data series goes).

The Indigenous population’s share of total provincial employment has also increased over this period, going from 3.7% in 2006 to 5.7% today.

After contracting by 9.7% in 2020 during the first year of the pandemic, annual Indigenous employment grew by 17.9% in 2021 and another 14.6% in 2022.

Employment growth among the non-Indigenous population shrank by 7.1% in 2020 with a less pronounced rebound of 4.9% and 4.6% in 2021 and 2022.

For the first time since the data series began, the participation rate of Alberta’s Indigenous population was higher than that of the non-Indigenous population at 72.4% versus 69.4% in 2022.**

The same is true for the employment rate with last year marking the first time since 2006 that the Indigenous employment rate (66.2%) was higher than the non-Indigenous rate (65.5%).**

Among the core working age population (age 25-54), however, the off-reserve Indigenous population had a participation rate of 85.6% and an employment rate of 79.8% in Alberta in 2022 compared to 88.9% and 84.7% for the non-Indigenous population.  

There remains a significant gap in unemployment rates among the Indigenous and non-Indigenous population. As of 2022, the Indigenous unemployment rate averaged 8.6% compared to 5.7% for the non-Indigenous population.**

With job vacancies elevated and the population aging, Alberta’s young Indigenous population will remain a critical source of new workers for the province. 

*Includes persons who reported having an Indigenous identity, that is, First Nations (North American Indian), Métis or Inuk (Inuit), or those who reported more than one identity. Excluded from the survey’s coverage are persons living on reserves and other Indigenous settlements.

**The participation rate is the percentage of the working age population that is either working or actively looking for work. The employment rate is the percentage of the working age population that is employed. The unemployment rate is the percentage of the labour force (those working or actively looking for work) that is unemployed.  

Answer to the previous trivia question: STEM is an acronym for the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.

Today’s trivia question: In what year did the Government of Canada proclaim that June 21 would be National Aboriginal Day (now National Indigenous Peoples Day)?