Aboriginal Women in Canada – Leading the way in labour markets

Aboriginal women are “leading the way in labour markets,” according to a recent Toronto-Dominion Bank paper that finds they have seen the “largest bounce back” in employment since the 2008-2009 recession, compared with aboriginal men and the non-aboriginal population.

They’re also participating more in the labour market. The participation rate among aboriginal women rose by 1.2 percentage points between 2007 and last year – in contrast to declines among aboriginal men and the non-aboriginal population. (The study looked only at off-reserve trends due to limitations of on-reserve data. It says the off-reserve population accounts for nearly 70 per cent of the total).

What’s more, many are landing good jobs. Employment growth has been “particularly high” in knowledge-based sectors such as finance, education and professional services, which tend to be higher-paying industries – a development the paper attributes to rapid increases in educational attainment.

“It’s significant,” said Brian DePratto, TD economist and author of the report. “On the employment side of things, and education attainment, these are strong growth rates. It’s a strong story across the board.”

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Aboriginal women lead the way in Canada’s labour markets – The Globe and Mail.