{"id":467033,"date":"2026-02-11T01:55:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T01:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/467033\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T01:55:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T01:55:16","slug":"in-a-shift-nwt-employment-rate-regresses-toward-national-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/467033\/","title":{"rendered":"In a shift, NWT employment rate regresses toward national mean"},"content":{"rendered":"

The latest Statistics Canada data shows the Northwest Territories\u2019 employment rate at its lowest for this time of year in at least a quarter of a century. <\/p>\n

For months, the proportion of working-age people finding and keeping jobs in the NWT has been among the lowest on record<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a big change from 2022, when the labour market in the territory\u00a0ran so hot<\/a>\u00a0that the NWT\u2019s employment rate was far higher than any other jurisdiction and businesses had trouble finding anyone to take jobs.<\/p>\n

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The NWT\u2019s present situation involves a dropping employment rate,\u00a0falling participation rate<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 the proportion of people actively seeking work \u2013 and steady unemployment rate.<\/p>\n

That combination usually means people are dropping out of the workforce rather than simply being unable to find a job.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn recent months, the NWT\u2019s employment rate has shifted closer to the national level, standing 2.4 percentage points higher in January, compared with a long\u2011term average gap of 7.9 points,\u201d the NWT Bureau of Statistics stated in a news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other two territories remain near their historical patterns.\u201d<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the only area in which the NWT\u2019s economy is decoupling from what\u2019s happening elsewhere in the North.<\/p>\n

Late last year, we published a chart of gross domestic product figures that showed the NWT\u2019s GDP falling off in comparison to GDP for the Yukon and Nunavut.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYear over year, the Northwest Territories\u2019 employment rate declined 3.4 percentage points, from 66.3% in January 2025 to 62.9% in January 2026,\u201d the NWT Bureau of Statistics continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmong major demographic groups, the largest decreases were recorded among youth aged 15\u201324 (43.6% to 35.1%), males (68.0% to 62.4%), and residents of Yellowknife (74.3% to 69.4%).\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest data came just ahead of the Gahcho Ku\u00e9 mine\u2019s owners halting work on a project<\/a> designed to help keep the diamond mine open from 2027 to 2030.<\/p>\n

Industry minister Caitlin Cleveland called that \u201cserious news\u201d for the territory. While the mine operator doesn\u2019t expect pausing the Tuzo project to affect Gahcho Ku\u00e9\u2019s 2026 performance, it has implications for hundreds of jobs from 2027 onward.<\/p>\n

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