The latest Statistics Canada data shows the Northwest Territories’ employment rate at its lowest for this time of year in at least a quarter of a century.
For months, the proportion of working-age people finding and keeping jobs in the NWT has been among the lowest on record.
It’s a big change from 2022, when the labour market in the territory ran so hot that the NWT’s employment rate was far higher than any other jurisdiction and businesses had trouble finding anyone to take jobs.
The NWT’s present situation involves a dropping employment rate, falling participation rate – the proportion of people actively seeking work – and steady unemployment rate.
That combination usually means people are dropping out of the workforce rather than simply being unable to find a job.
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“In recent months, the NWT’s employment rate has shifted closer to the national level, standing 2.4 percentage points higher in January, compared with a long‑term average gap of 7.9 points,” the NWT Bureau of Statistics stated in a news release.
“The other two territories remain near their historical patterns.”
This isn’t the only area in which the NWT’s economy is decoupling from what’s happening elsewhere in the North.
Late last year, we published a chart of gross domestic product figures that showed the NWT’s GDP falling off in comparison to GDP for the Yukon and Nunavut.
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“Year over year, the Northwest Territories’ employment rate declined 3.4 percentage points, from 66.3% in January 2025 to 62.9% in January 2026,” the NWT Bureau of Statistics continued.
“Among major demographic groups, the largest decreases were recorded among youth aged 15–24 (43.6% to 35.1%), males (68.0% to 62.4%), and residents of Yellowknife (74.3% to 69.4%).”
The latest data came just ahead of the Gahcho Kué mine’s owners halting work on a project designed to help keep the diamond mine open from 2027 to 2030.
Industry minister Caitlin Cleveland called that “serious news” for the territory. While the mine operator doesn’t expect pausing the Tuzo project to affect Gahcho Kué’s 2026 performance, it has implications for hundreds of jobs from 2027 onward.
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