Initial results from a pilot-project developed by Statistics Canada shed light on the economic contribution of Indigenous peoples to the Canadian economy. The estimates are available for the years 2012 through 2020.

Yesterday’s Owl looked at the contribution in terms of gross domestic product. Today’s Owl reports on the number of jobs held by Indigenous peoples.

As of 2020, there were 781,145 Indigenous jobs in Canada. This was 10.6% lower than in 2019 before the pandemic.

About 16% of Indigenous jobs in 2020 were in public administration, followed by health care and social assistance (14%), construction (11%), and retail (11%).

In Alberta, the number of Indigenous jobs went from 145,910 in 2019 to 128,225 in 2020 for a drop of 12%.

Indigenous employment in Alberta accounted for about 16% of the national total in 2020.

At 18% of the total, the construction sector was home to the largest number Indigenous jobs in Alberta in 2020 followed by public administration (11%), health care and social assistance (10%), and retail (9%).

Answer to the previous trivia question: According to Live Science, there are two theories why November (Novem is latin for nine) was originally the ninth month of the year. Either November got shuffled over two spots when January and February were added or the beginning of the year moved from March 1 to January 1.

Today’s trivia question: Which national park gets the most visitors per year: Banff or Jasper?