Introduction

A common way of determining the state of an economy is to measure the rate of growth or decline of a nation’s gross domestic product or its GDP. In 2023, the Canadian GDP grew at a rate of 1.7%. This growth rate compares with Canada’s GDP increase of 3.8% in 2022. There are no equivalent measures for Canada’s Indigenous economy. An alternative method for assessing the state of the Indigenous economy is to examine unemployment, employment, participation, and wage rates. For the Indigenous population in 2023, the unemployment rate increased, and both the employment and participation rates decreased, compared to 2022. All three rates indicate a decline in the state of the Indigenous economy. The following article examines these rates for both the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations. Data going back to 2007 is provided to enable the reader to make their own observations, beyond those reported in the article. The article shows that there is a clear relationship between the level of educational attainment and the rates of unemployment, employment, and participation.