Aboriginal Labour Market Information in Canada: An Overview

Abstract

This report, prepared for the Friendship Centres of Canada, provides a detailed overview and assessment of available sources of labour market information (LMI) on Aboriginal Canadians. The Friendship Centres play a pivotal role in community and economic development by providing training and employment opportunities, facilitating social development, and building human and resource capacity for Aboriginal Canadians. Better labour market information, and better use of existing LMI, can facilitate their work. The three most important sources of LMI for Aboriginal Canadians are the Labour Force Survey, National Household Survey, and Aboriginal Peoples Survey. The report identifies the exclusion of the Aboriginal population living on reserve in all Statistics Canada surveys except the National Household Survey and the Census as the most important lacuna in Canadian Aboriginal labour market information. The report concludes that despite the many gaps, there is a wealth of Aboriginal LMI available in Canada, at the national, regional and local levels, that can be used by Friendship Centres to better develop and target programs and services to the urban Aboriginal population.

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