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Goods-producing industries $2,061 (+$67)

Service-producing industries $1,452 (+$26)

Construction $1,721 (+$25)

Another trend, which started around the time that the Covid-19 pandemic emerged, is that the public sector — which often pays better, particularly more than small and medium-sized businesses can afford — overtook the private sector 2020 and the gap has been growing ever since.

“If the composition of employment does not reverse, there is a risk that the NWT economy will become increasingly dependent on government, leading to a hollowing out of the private sector,” the territorial government acknowledges in its 2023-24 Economic Review.

Earnings rising

The GNWT calculates that wages rose by 2.1 per cent in 2022 and projects that they will surge by 2.8 per cent in 2023. Despite that, in its 2023-24 Economic Review, the GNWT notes that “wage growth is being outpaced by consumer price growth.”

The impact of inflation, which causes wages to rise, was most noticeable in health care in 2022, with gross earnings increasing $178 weekly.

In addition, some significant jumps occurred between January and February 2023, with earnings shooting up $240 weekly in construction and $174 per week in goods-producing industries. Health care climbed by $91 weekly between the first two months of this year.

Minimum wage in the NWT is $15.20 per hour. Last September, the territorial government introduced a formula based on the percentage change in the consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation, that will result in an annual adjustment each September. The last increase to the NWT minimum wage — $1.74 per hour — came on Sept. 1, 2021.

Funding to facilitate labour

The territorial government has several pots of money intended to foster the labour market.

The Small Community Employment fund consists of $4 million to support small NWT communities and regional centres in developing employment opportunities.

Building Skills 4 Success in the NWT has $1.7 million to aid residents with literacy and “everyday skills needed to succeed in NWT workplaces and to continue learning.”

There’s $883,000 through Labour Market Development Agreement Contributions from the federal government.

Workforce Development Agreement Contributions amount to $796,000 for 2023-24 “to provide financial assistance to community partners for training, supports, employment partnerships, and knowledge building programs and services designed to support people in obtaining and maintaining employment in the Northwest Territories.”

To make it more affordable to go to work, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment offers grants and contributions toward child care. For example, the Early Childhood Child Care Fee Reduction Subsidy equates to $6.3 million.

The Early Childhood Program Operator Subsidy is worth $4.85 million. It provides grants to support the operations of licensed daycare and day home operators.

Transportation and warehousing $1,381 ($18)

Industrial aggregate $1,566 (+$39)

Trade $941 (+$5)

Health care and social assistance $1,497 (+$178)

Public administration $1,822 (-$9)

Other services $1,013 (+$109)

Source: NWT Bureau of Statistics