March 2015

ABORIGINAL MARKET
MONTHLY
Aboriginal Labour Market Newsletter

Canada-New
Brunswick Job
Grant

The Canada-New Brunswick

Job Grant is an employerdriven program, that invests in
the skill development and
employment needs of the
workforce. Employers
determine what training is
needed, who participates, and
which provider will deliver the
training.
The government will
contribute 2/3 of the eligible
training costs, up to a
maximum of $10,000 per
training participant, per fiscal
year. The employer pays at
least 1/3 of the eligible costs.

Labour Force Survey

In 2014, the Labour Force Survey quantified the o-reserve
Aboriginal employment rate in New Brunswick (NB). As shown
below, employment picked up through the summer months as
seasonal industries increased activity. By November, the
Aboriginal rate nearly matched the non-Aboriginal employment
rate. For the month of January 2015, the Labour Force Survey
estimated NB Aboriginal unemployment at 20.6%.
80.0%$
70.0%$
60.0%$
50.0%$
40.0%$
30.0%$

2014$Non-Aboriginal$Employment$Rate$
2014$Aboriginal$Employment$Rate$

20.0%$
10.0%$

Aboriginal Market Monthly

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01 $
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01
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01 $
-M
ay
$
01
-Ju
n$
01
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01
-A
ug
$
01
-S
ep
$
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-O
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-N
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For more information, visit:

www.gnb.ca/training.

March 2015

New Brunswick and the rest of Canada

In February, the unemployment rate in NB rose slightly
from 10% to 10.4% compared to 6.8% nationally (Statistics
Canada, Labour Force Survey).

Entrepreneurship: An employment driver

Did You Know?

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is
the most current reporting tool
for Aboriginal labour market
information. However, it does not
include First Nation communities.

45% of First Nations people

in Canada live on-reserve
(National Household Survey,
2011)

64% of First Nations people

in NB live on-reserve
(National Household Survey,
2011)

Just 36% of First Nations

people would be included in
the LFS in NB
61% of all Aboriginal people
in NB would be included in
the LFS (including First
Nations, Mtis, Inuit, and offreserve Aboriginals)

Therefore, the LFS shows some

valuable information but it is not
indicative of the Aboriginal
population of NB as a whole.
More effective tools are needed
to gain a full picture of the
Aboriginal labour market in NB.

Aboriginal Market Monthly

A recent report from Entrevestor shows that Atlantic

Canadian startups expanded their workforce by 9.4% in
2014. This far exceeds the 1% expansion in Atlantic Canada
as a whole. Sectors impacted by startups include:
Information Technology (IT), Life Sciences, Manufacturing,
and Cleantech.
In addition to robust workforce expansion, startups created
well-paying jobs with an average salary of $58,600. Startups
hold optimistic expectations of increasing sta by 43% in
2015, although this should be viewed with caution in light of
overly ambitious hiring expectations in 2014.
The entire report from Entrevestor can be read by visiting
www.entrevestor.com/intelligence.
Startup East Employment in 2014
Employment Growth
Total payroll
Expected hiring in 2015*
Projected 2015 job growth

9.4%
$44.1M
476.5
43%

*Part-time employees recorded as 0.5

Aboriginal entrepreneurs are benefiting from the startup

sector. A recent NB Aboriginal Information &
Communications Technology (NBAICT) training program
provided by the Joint Economic Development Initiative
(JEDI) resulted in at least 5 Aboriginal startups. Some of
these startups are seeking to expand their workforce to
keep up with business demands. For more information on
the NBAICT project, visit www.jedinb.ca.
2