The Métis National Council says a new government labour force survey contains both good and bad news.
The 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey was released Wednesday and it shows labour force participation by Métis people is very similar to the total Canadian population at close to 61 per cent.
However, the survey also shows much of Métis employment is in lower paying service sector and trades jobs.
MNC Minister of Social Development David Chartrand says the labour force survey shows Métis people are paying a high proportion of income taxes and the government needs to tailor employment programs to meet their needs.
“Our citizens are more in the trades and of course were very successful in that area but what it does also tell us is that there’s not a massive investment in the professional side,” he says. “So what does it tell you? Really, at the end of the day when you look at numbers, it means our people, the majority of them continue to be at a certain economic level.”
Chartrand says the federal government’s Aboriginal Skills and Employment Training Strategy is a step in the right direction.
The survey finds close to 30 per cent of employed Métis people work in sales and service occupations.
It also says 51 per cent of Métis job seekers reported not having the necessary experience for available jobs.
Of the Métis people who reported they wanted a job but did not look for work in the week preceding the survey, almost 40 per cent listed an illness or disability as the main reason.