Inuit employment level at Nunavut government remains at 50 per cent

The proportion of Inuit employed at the Government of Nunavut remains at 50 per cent, a report tabled in the legislative assembly said.

This means the Government of Nunavut has a long way to go before Inuit employment reaches 85 per cent, a ratio that’s equal to proportion of Inuit in Nunavut’s general population.

The GN is obligated under Article 23 of the NCLA to work towards a public service that is representative of Nunavut’s population

The most recent figures from the GN’s human resources department, to the end of September 2012, show that 50 per cent of GN jobs were held by Inuit beneficiaries.

The Human Resources statistics tabled March 13 in the Nunavut legislature say that of 3,158 jobs that are filled, 1,568 or 50 per cent of them are filled by beneficiaries.

That’s down by one percentage point from 2011.

At the senior management level, that percentage falls to 17 per cent, while 92 per cent of administrative support jobs are held by Inuit.

Inuit employment statistics vary from department to department, with as many as 80 per cent of jobs within the Department of Culture and Heritage held by beneficiaries, while at the Nunavut Housing Corp., only 33 per cent of jobs are held by beneficiaries (although that’s up from 30 per cent in 2011).

Statistics for the other departments show varied levels of Inuit employment:

• Community and Government Services — 42 per cent;

• Economic Development and Transportation — 49 per cent;

• Education – 52 per cent;

• Environment — 40 per cent;

• Executive and Intergovernmental Affairs — 70 per cent;

• Finance — 45 per cent;

• Health and Social Services — 48 per cent;

• Human resources — 63 per cent;

• Justice — 39 per cent;

• Legislative Assembly — 50 per cent;

• Nunavut Arctic College — 53 per cent; and,

• Qulliq Energy Corp. — 55 per cent.

The statistics show that the fewest proportion of beneficiaries work in Iqaluit: of 1,206 GN jobs in Iqaluit, 429, or 36 per cent are held by beneficiaries,

The Baffin region, with a total of 1,926 positions, has 868 beneficiaries working at the GN, the lowest percentage of any region at 45 per cent.

Inuit employment stands at 57 per cent in the Kivalliq and Kitikmeot regions.

The capacity of the GN is still weak, with only 76 per cent of the jobs filled — about two per cent more than a year ago,

The departments with the lowest percentages of jobs filled include Finance at 60 per cent and Health and Social Services at 64 per cent.

Agencies, boards and corporations fare better, with 84 per cent of jobs filled.