The territory’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.5 per cent in September – a mark that hasn’t been seen since March 2011.
Statistics Canada estimates (pdf) that 22,900 people were employed in the NWT last month, representing an employment rate of 70.2 per cent.
That percentage also takes into account a decrease of 500 people over the previous month – many of whom would have been summer students returning to school or firefighters wrapping up work for the season.
Year-over-year, full-time employment increased while part-time employment decreased for a total net gain of 700.
On the other hand, unemployment decreased by 500 people compared to September of 2015.
By age, the employment rate for youths aged 15 to 24 dropped 5.1 per cent from August compared to 0.3 per cent among those aged 25 and over.
Regionally, the employment rate increased by 1.2 per cent in Yellowknife, while dropping 2.3 per cent across the rest of the territory.
Nationally, Canada’s employment rate was 61.6 per cent, with Yukon (73.9 per cent) having the highest rate followed by the NWT and Alberta (66.7 per cent).
