Employment Share by Occupation
In the 2001 Census, about 85 percent of Dawson City's adult population reported that they were active in the labour market. This is a little higher than the overall Yukon proportion of 80 percent. Reported unemployment, at 10 percent, was slightly lower than the 2001Yukon average of 12 percent. Women in Dawson City in 2001 reported a slightly lower unemployment rate than men: 9 percent.
Young people are also more likely to be active in the labour market in Dawson City than in the Yukon as a whole. In 2001, about 75 percent of the 15-to-24 age group reported that they were in the labour market, compared to 68 percent across the Yukon. Unemployment in 2001 was also lower for Dawson City young people. This age group had an unemployment rate of 8 percent in Dawson City, compared to a Yukon average of 22 percent. Employment conditions can change significantly each year depending on the level of tourism activity. Tourism worldwide has decreased substantially since 2001; this will mean markedly changed job opportunities for young people. Lack of year-round employment among young people is a major concern for the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in. They report even higher unemployment among their people and are concerned that much of the available work is seasonal or short-term.
On average in 2003, 184 individuals in Dawson City claimed employment insurance payments. The number of people claiming employment insurance was as low as 156 in 2001 before climbing to the latest levels.
Relatively little market work in Dawson City is full-time and full year, reflecting the importance of seasonal work in both tourism and placer mining. The 2001 Census reported that people working full-time, full year in Dawson City accounted for 39 percent of all workers, an increase since 1996 but still far short of the 46 percent for the Yukon as a whole. People living in Dawson often work especially long hours in the summer tourism season. Those involved in the arts, such as writers, artists and craftspeople, also pursue these activities for the rest of the year.
Self-employment, at 16 percent of all employment, is about the same as in the Yukon as a whole.
The 2001 Census reported that the average employment income for workers in Dawson City was almost $28,000, a little below the Yukon average of $31,500. For those who worked full-time for the full year, the average income from employment stood at $41,000, compared to $44, 600 for the Yukon as a whole.
Work in Dawson City leans strongly toward occupations involved in tourism. At the time of the 2001 Census, about 29 percent of total employment in the community was in sales and service occupations, such as cooks, food service fields, retail sales, and cashiers. This compares with a 23-percent share for these occupational fields in the Yukon as a whole. The proportion of the workforce in sales and service fields will be even higher now than in 1996. The percentage of workers in management occupations in Dawson City, at 13 percent of total employment, is the same as in the Yukon as a whole.
Dawson City is a large community with a wide range of health, education, government and business services. Consequently, some people work in occupations such as teaching, nursing, social work, and administration. However, the proportion of people working in these occupations is somewhat lower than for the Yukon as a whole.
The importance of mining and related trades work is reflected in the slightly higher shares of employment in these fields in Dawson City than in the Yukon as a whole.
