Employment Share by Occupation
At the time of the 2001 Census, about 74 percent of the Mayo population aged 15 and older said they were active in the labour market. This is quite a bit lower than the overall Yukon proportion of 79 percent. It reflects limitations in the community's economy and a general sense that work was not available in the area. Unemployment, as reported in the 2001 Census, was very close to the Yukon average. In contrast to the overall Yukon pattern, women in Mayo reported slightly higher unemployment than did men.
Young people in Mayo were a little less likely to be involved in the labour market than were young people in the overall Yukon population. Numbers in the Census are very small but the reported unemployment rate for young people was 40 percent in 2001. Unemployment and the lack of long-term jobs are concerns of the First Nation, which has set a goal of developing long-term employment opportunities.
On average in 2003, 43 people in Mayo claimed employment insurance payments. The number of people claiming employment insurance has averaged from the low 30s to low 40s for much of the past ten years.
Relatively little work is full-time and full year in Mayo, reflecting the importance of seasonal, tourism-based work in the economy. The 2001 Census reported that people working full-time, full year accounted for only 30 percent of all workers in Mayo, far short of the 46 percent for the Yukon as a whole.
Self-employment, at 12 percent of all employment in Mayo, is marginally lower than for the Yukon as a whole.
Despite the lower proportion of people working on a full-time, full year basis in Mayo, average employment income for all workers, at $24,270, is just a little under 80 percent of the Yukon average (reported at $31,500 for 2000). Longer work hours in the summer season help make up for a shortage of work at other times.
At the time of the 2001Census, about 12 percent of total employment in Mayo was in government and education occupations like teachers, social workers and assistants. These occupations also make up 12 percent of Yukon-wide employment. Other sizeable occupation fields related to government and business include management and administration. Management occupations have an almost 10-percent share in Mayo, compared to 13 percent in the Yukon as a whole. People in administration occupations are 17 percent of the Mayo workforce, compared to the Yukon average of 18 percent.
Sales and service occupations, such as retail sales, guides, and food service workers, provide about 17 percent of total employment in Mayo, a little lower than the Yukon average of 23 percent.
In 2001, trades and transport occupations, such as construction workers, mechanics, or truck drivers, accounted for 27 percent of employment in Mayo. This matches the industry emphasis on high construction activity in that year. Occupations in mining, forestry and trapping accounted for 10 percent of employment.
