BC STATS: Labour Characteristics of Off-Reserve Aboriginal Population

Since April 2004, Statistics Canada has been collecting data through the monthly Labour Force Survey on the labour market status of Aboriginal peoples living off-reserve in the four western provinces. In order to get more reliable information on the labour market outcomes of off-reserve Aboriginal peoples in BC, the province of British Columbia sponsored an expansion of the survey. The increased sample has enabled Statistics Canada to produce reasonably reliable estimates of labour market characteristics of the off-reserve North American Indian and Métis populations living in BC for the 12-month period from April 2004 to March 2005. Data will continue to be released on a quarterly basis up to the 1st quarter of 2006. At that point, BC Stats will produce a second Highlights report covering the April 2005 to March 2006 period.

The expanded sample of Aboriginal peoples in the Labour Force Survey has made it possible to provide estimates of their labour market characteristics at 3 sub-provincial areas of the province; 1) the Large Metropolitan Areas of Vancouver, Victoria, Abbotsford and Kelowna; 2) the South, excluding the large metropolitan areas; and 3) the North. To view the geography of these three regions click here. There are also tabulations of where the First Nations, who live off-reserve, reside in the province by Band Grouping and by Band. To view the place of residency of First Nations Band Members who live off-reserve click here.

Click on graph thumbnails for a larger image

In a time period when the British Columbia labour market has been performing well, with an average unemployment rate of 6.9 per cent, North American Indians still show high incidences of unemployment. Among the working age population (15 and over), the unemployment rate of 21 per cent is more than three times that of the non-Aboriginal population.

The Métis population are finding work more readily than North American Indians, but their unemployment rate, at 12 per cent, is close to double that of the non-Aboriginal population. While the unemployment rates for non-Aboriginal men and women have been very similar in the last year or so, Aboriginal women appear to have significantly more difficulty in finding work, particularly female North American Indians.

In terms of the relative number of people in the three populations who have jobs, the differences are not nearly so dramatic. Among the Métis population, the per cent of their population who do have a job is very similar to that of the non-Aboriginal population.

Among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people who do have work, their hours spent on the job are fairly similar at 36.5 versus 36.9 average hours per week, respectively.

The differences in employment rates between North American Indians living off-reserve and non-Aboriginal people in Northern BC is particularly daunting. In a part of the province where three out of four prime-aged non-Aboriginal persons are able to find work, only 43 per cent of North American Indians are able to do so. The Métis in the North also seem to be having problems relative to the Métis in other parts of BC as well as to the non- Aboriginal population in the region. (view map)

One of the positive pieces of information that shows up in the data is that when the employment rates are compared between Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal people who have the same levels of education, many of the differences in labour market outcomes disappear.

Approximately 78 per cent of North American Indians who have a completed high school diploma plus a post secondary certificate or diploma have a job compared to 81 per cent among non-Aboriginal people.

As so much of the differences between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal groups can be explained by the differences in their education levels, it is critical to understand how very disadvantaged North American Indians are when it comes to their education attainment. More than one in four (28%) of the prime working-aged population have neither a high school diploma nor post secondary credentials. Only 5 per cent have a university degree, compared to 11 per cent for the Métis and 22 per cent for the non- Aboriginal population.

The gender differences in educational attainment are also of interest. Women in off-reserve Aboriginal communities far surpass men in their education levels. Close to 50 per cent of Métis women have completed high school plus post secondary, well ahead of the men where only 29 per cent have achieved the same level.

The disparity in educational attainment means the skill levels of the jobs that are available to Aboriginal peoples are considerably lower than those available to non-Aboriginal people. Few Aboriginal peoples have university degrees, so most of the professions are not accessible. Aboriginal peoples are more than equally represented in the Technical group of occupations, particularly in the trades. Four out of 10 of the Métis workforce are in this occupational group.

The relative wage rates between the Aboriginal groups reflect the relative skill levels of their populations. The wages shown by level of education are particularly enlightening. Those with a high school diploma are working in jobs that, on average, pay the same wage regardless of ethnicity.

There does remain a differential in wages for those who have completed high school plus post secondary but that is explainable. All post secondary credentials are not of equal value and as was already shown, relatively more of the non-Aboriginal population have university degrees.

There is virtually no difference between the male and female wage rates among North American Indians (men earn only $.80 more per hour) while among the non-Aboriginal community, men earn $3.33 more than women.

Other interesting information gleaned from the data is that Aboriginal peoples are twice as likely as non-Aboriginal people to work in the forest sector. On the other hand, Aboriginal peoples are less likely to work in the health and education sectors. As these sectors consist primarily of unionized, public sector jobs, Aboriginal peoples tend to be under-represented in the public sector and have lower levels of unionization. Relatively fewer Aboriginal peoples are self-employed due in part to lower representation in professional occupations such as doctors, lawyers and accountants.

Aboriginal peoples are observed to be returning to school in their adult years. The percentages appear fairly small at six per cent. However, if six per cent of all Aboriginal adults complete a post secondary credential each year, their education attainment levels could improve very quickly.