Photo: Northern Pix - https://www.flickr.com/people/northernpix/ · CC BY 2.0Fewer working-age people have jobs in Kugaaruk than in almost any other Canadian town
An hour or more each way is the commute for 0% of workers in Kugaaruk; the average is 8.2 minutes. Before tax, the typical household in Kugaaruk brought in $100,000 in 2020, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at $85,900. When the 2021 census was taken, 23% of people in Kugaaruk who wanted a job had none, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Jobs and income in Kugaaruk: what the figures say
Fewer people in work than most towns
At the 2021 census 34% of the 15-to-64s were in work (73% in the middle of Canadian towns); across all ages 15 and over, 34%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
23% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns. Unemployment ↓
Higher incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $100,000 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
Commutes take 8.2 minutes on average, against 26 in the middle of Canadian towns; 0% take an hour or more. The trip to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
Kugaaruk earns B+ for jobs and income
Better than 72% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, the share of 15-to-64s in work.
Graded against Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more; less unemployment and a shorter commute count in its favour.
How the grade works
Census 2021 measures, weighed equally against every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 people or more: the share of residents aged 15 to 64 in work, median household income (2020), the unemployment rate and the average commute. Each becomes a percentile; their average sets the letter.
34% of working-age people in Kugaaruk have jobs
44% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. These are census figures from May 2021, during COVID’s third wave; jobs have recovered since, which the Labour Force Survey shows.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: people in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64, and the census unemployment rate (15 and over); the 25-to-54 rate is Statistics Canada’s own (98-10-0485). The Labour Force Survey and business counts are context, not grade inputs.
A smaller share in work than in almost any Canadian town.
Household income in Kugaaruk
Before tax, 2020: higher than in 86% of Canadian towns.
Read the incomes as 2020’s, before tax: pandemic benefits such as CERB are in them, and they raised many low incomes for that year.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Time on the road to work from Kugaaruk
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 5.8 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 95%, more than the 36% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: commuting duration in five bands; our average uses each band’s middle (75 minutes for an hour or more), so it runs about two minutes above Statistics Canada’s own.
57% of commuters from Kugaaruk go without a car
Hardly anyone takes transit to work, where the middle of Canadian towns has 3.5%. 19% drive to work, fewer than the 89% in the middle of Canadian towns. Only 4.7% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
EI claims in the Kitikmeot census division run 7% above their 2019 level
July 2021 was the busiest month, with 350 people on EI, 2.1 times 2019’s average. For each 100 residents of working age in the division, about 4 are on EI.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100). Kugaaruk doesn’t get its own EI beneficiaries figures; the ones here come from the Kitikmeot census division.
Kugaaruk on foot: a B grade
Better than 60% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Kugaaruk, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. A census-day figure: people without a job who were looking, divided by all those working or looking, ages 15 and up.
- Household income. The 2020 income of the household at the midpoint, all sources and before tax. Inside a city we rebuild it from the dissemination areas’ income bands, so there it is an estimate.
- Trip times. Commuters picked a band for their usual trip (under 15 minutes, 15 to 29, and so on). We place each person at the middle of their band, which lands a little above Statistics Canada’s own timed average.
- Employment Insurance. A monthly count of Employment Insurance beneficiaries for the whole census division. It tracks the local job market, but it is not an unemployment rate.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Which towns we compare. The comparison pool is places of 2,500 people or more, towns or neighbourhoods inside cities, without whole cities or reserves, and we compare with its median.
Questions about work in Kugaaruk
What is the unemployment rate in Kugaaruk?
The 2021 census found 23% of those working or looking without a job; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%.
What is the average household income in Kugaaruk?
The census puts Kugaaruk at $100,000 for 2020, before tax and at the median, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Kugaaruk get to work?
By car: 19% of commuters, 57% walk; on census day 4.7% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Kugaaruk?
8.2 minutes is the average trip, with 95% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 0% taking an hour or more.
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · Statistics Canada, tables 98-10-0458 and 98-10-0459 (commuting) · Statistics Canada, table 14-10-0323 (EI beneficiaries) · grades: TownRatings. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).