Employment Characteristics in the NWT Diamond Industry

1
Employment Characteristics in the NWT Diamond
Industry

• NWT Bureau of Statistics
• June 29, 2005

2
Presentation Overview

• With two operating diamond mines operating in the
  Northwest Territories and a third under
  construction, the diamond industry is having a
  significant impact on the NWT labour market.
• The purpose of this presentation is
• to examine some of the characteristics of NWT
  residents who work in the diamond industry and
• identify some of the overall employment and
  income impacts of the industry.
• Much of the data presented is from the 2004 NWT
  Community Survey. While this data shows point in
  time information, it does provide a basis for
  understanding characteristics of NWT residents
  working in the diamond industry.
• The profile information presented DOES NOT
  include rotational workers residing in southern
  Canada who work in the diamond industry.

3
Profile of NWT Residents in the Diamond Industry
4
Diamond Industry Employment, by Region
No.

• Overall from the 2004 NWT Community Survey, some
  1,314 territorial residents identified themselves
  as working for the diamond industry.

5
Diamond Industry Employment, by Selected
Communities
No.

• Outside of Yellowknife, Fort Smith, Rae-Edzo and
  Hay River were the communities with the largest
  number of diamond industry employees.

6
Yellowknife Diamond Industry Employment, by
Ethnic Group
No.

• For Yellowknife, some 222 diamond industry
  employees were aboriginal out of the 906 total
  (excl. Ndilo).

7
YK Aboriginal Employment in the Diamond Industry,
by Mobility Status
No.

• About 44 of aboriginal diamond industry
  employees from Yellowknife, lived in a different
  community 5 years previously.

8
Diamond Industry Employment, by Ethnic Group

• Overall, aboriginal employees represented 39 of
  all NWT employees in the diamond industry. In the
  overall labour market aboriginal persons
  represent 34 of employed persons.

9
Non-Aboriginal Diamond Employment, by Length of
Residency
No.

• For non-aboriginals in the diamond industry, some
  325 have lived in the NWT for less than 10 years.

10
Diamond Industry Employment, by Gender

• Males represent 84 of NWT resident diamond
  industry employees compared with 54 of employees
  in the overall economy.

11
Diamond Industry Employment, by Age Group

• For diamond employees, some 54 are over the age
  of 40. This compares with 46 of all employed
  persons being 40 years of age or older.

12
Occupations in the Diamond Industry, by Age Group
No.

• Employees over the age of 40 are more common
  among management and technical and administrative
  positions.

13
Diamond Industry Employment, by Education Level

• About 61 of resident diamond industry employees
  have completed a post-secondary education and 83
  have at least high school. These numbers are
  slightly higher than the labour market as a whole.

14
Skill Type of Diamond Industry Employment

• The skill profile of resident employees of the
  diamond industry match education levels with 58
  in medium or high skill jobs (these normally
  require post-secondary).

15
Skill Type of Aboriginal and All Diamond Industry
Employees

• Examining the skill type for positions held by
  aboriginal employees, indicates that 70 of
  aboriginal employees are in low skill or
  unskilled occupations.

16
Harvesting Activity of Aboriginal Males

• Examining harvesting activity among aboriginal
  males indicates that 66 of diamond employees
  hunted or fished, compared with 62 for employed
  aboriginal males and 57 for all aboriginal
  males. Trapping rates were similar.

17
Intensity of Hunting Fishing Activity for
Aboriginal Males

• However, for those that hunt and fish, the
  intensity was lower 9 hunting or fishing
  frequently compared with 21 for all aboriginal
  males.

18
Aboriginal Persons, by Work Pattern in 2003

• Not surprisingly, aboriginal diamond industry
  employees were more likely to have worked
  full-year than all employed or all aboriginal
  males.

19
Overall Diamond Industry Impacts on Employment
and Income
20
Indirect Induced Jobs Related to Diamond
Industry
No.

• Modelling results would suggest that in addition
  to the 1,314 direct resident employment, there
  are an estimated 650 jobs that are indirectly
  associated with support for the diamond industry.

21
Percent Change in Employment Income, 1994-2003

• While employment income has increased by about
  46 between 1994 and 2003 in the NWT, in the
  North Slave Region it has more than doubled.

22
Total Employment Income, North Slave 1994-2003
million

• Total employment income in the North Slave Region
  has increased from about 17 million in 1994 to
  about 36 million in 2003.

23
North Slave Employment Rate, 1986-2004

• The point in time employment rates show modest
  improvement in the North Slave. However, with
  population increases the total number of jobs
  increased by about 44 between 1994 and 2004.

24
Percent of Persons Working More than 26 Weeks,
North Slave

• The increase in employment, coupled with the fact
  that the percentage of persons working more than
  26 weeks has increased from 20 to 34 between
  1988 and 2004 explains the overall employment
  income increases.

25
Family Income Distribution, North Slave Region
No.

• Examining family income distribution shows the
  reversal in distributions between 1994 and 2004.

26
Mining, Oil Gas Employment, Selected Communities
No.

• Mining employment has had a significant impact in
  Fort Smith and Hay River between 1996 and 2004.

27
Mining, Oil Gas Employment, Selected Communities
No.

• The diamond industry has meant that mine
  employment in Yellowknife is slightly higher in
  2004 than it was in 1996 even though the Giant
  and Con gold mines closed in this period.

28
Random Thoughts

• It is clear that the diamond industry has had a
  positive impact on employment in the Northwest
  Territories.
• In addition to Yellowknife and the North Slave
  Region, communities in the South Slave have also
  had some employment impacts from the industry.
• Under-representation of women and aboriginal
  persons are challenges faced by the industry.
• While diamond employment does not seem to impact
  participation in harvesting, it does appear to
  impact the nature of the involvement.
• Incomes have been most significantly impacted in
  the North Slave communities, which is the result
  of more and longer duration employment.