The employment rate for last month was 67.3 percent — considerably better than the national average of 60.4 percent, but only because the participation rate in the labour force fell by a full percentage point between March and April.
In actual numbers, the territory’s labour force fell by 400 persons from March to 23,200, and 300 of the 1,900 who were unemployed that month added their numbers to the 8,500 who were not in the labour force.
Year over year, the ranks of those not in the labour force swelled to 8,800 this April from 8,200 in April 2014, while the territory’s labour force shrank by 1,000, to 23,200, and the population fell by 300 persons to 32,100.
The number of people employed fell by 600 to 21,600. Hardest hit were workers age 25 and older; their numbers fell by 500 from April 2014, to 18,900 last month, and there was a shift away from the private sector to government work and a decline in self-employment.
From April 2014, the private sector fell 900 jobs to 10,500 and the ranks of the self-employed fell 500 to 1,500, while the public sector grew by 700 to 9,500.
Job losses were split evenly between Yellowknife and communities outside the capital, with each category losing 300 jobs. The number of aboriginal people working grew by 300 to 7,800, while non-aboriginals declined by 800 from April 2014 to 13,900.
