The employment rate in the NWT hit a record low in June, falling to 60.6 per cent after three consecutive months of declines, according to Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey, released on Friday.
Between March and June the employment rate fell by three percentage points, with the number of employed people dropping by 900, to 19,700 in June.
The unemployment rate was at 9.6 per cent in June, rising by 1.4 percentage points from May.
There were 300 more unemployed people in June compared to May, reaching 10,700 not in the labour force in June, "possibly indicating the decrease in people looking for employment due to Covid-19 related business closures," the report said.
Compared to June of 2019, the overall employment rate in the territory fell by 5.8 percentage points.
Among employment sectors the decrease was highest among youth aged 15-24 years, Non-Indigenous people and males.
Historically, employment among youth aged 15 to 24 years is stronger during summer months, partly driven by summer students’ employment.
With 1,700 people in that category, there were 900 fewer people employed in June compared to a year ago.