The unemployment rate in the NWT rose to 7.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018. In December the employment rate decreased to 65.9 percent, a 1.3 percent drop from the previous month.
Statistics Canada notes that the unemployment rate in the NWT went up 2.7 percent from the previous quarter in which the rate was at 4.7 percent.
The estimated number of people employed in the territory increased by 900 in the third quarter as opposed to the final quarter in which the number of people employed dropped by about 1,000.
This mirrored historical patterns of the final quarter of the year according to the NWT Bureau of Statistics.
Compared to December 2017, employment rates were up for people 25 years and older, men, Indigenous persons, and people living outside of Yellowknife however employment rates were down among youth aged 15 to 24, women, Non-Indigenous persons, and people living in Yellowknife.
Over the course of the full year, employment increased by 300, with a considerable shift from part-time to full-time employment. Employment in the public sector increased by 500 while increasing marginally in the private sector.
Employment rates for Yellowknife residents is at 78.1 percent as opposed to 55.7 percent or the rest of the territory.
Among the provinces and territories, the NWT (65.9%) had the third highest employment rate in Canada after Yukon (71.2%) and Alberta (67.1%).
