Photo: P199 · CC BY-SA 3.0Working-age people in Machin have jobs less often than in 92% of Canadian towns
Machin had an unemployment rate of 14% at the 2021 census, and the middle of Canadian towns sits at 9.9%. The census counted 190 people working in Machin and 290 residents commuting to a fixed workplace. Median household income in Machin was $73,300 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
What the numbers say about work in Machin
Fewer people in work than most towns
Among residents aged 15 to 64, 62% were in work at the 2021 census, against 73% in the middle of Canadian towns; take everyone 15 and over and it falls to 44%. In work ↓
More unemployment than most towns
Census day in 2021 put 14% out of work (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and the area’s monthly survey gave 2.9% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
On jobs and income, Machin grades D
Better than 11% of Canadian towns on three measures together.
Its strongest measure is household income; 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.
Machin at work: 62% of people aged 15 to 64
None of the 5 other places of 2,500 people or more in the Kenora census division has a smaller share of 15-to-64s in work.
The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 59% in October 2026. 51% of residents aged 15 and over were in the labour force, in work or seeking it. Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 44% were working. Pandemic rules were in force on census day, 11 May 2021; the Labour Force Survey shows how jobs have moved since.
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.
The daily tide in Machin runs outward
It sends out some 2 workers for every one it takes in. The job is inside the municipality for 31% of its commuters (70% in the middle of Canadian towns).
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
70% of Machin’s residents in work leave it to work; Dryden takes the most
- Dryden140
- Red Lake15
- Kenora, Unorganized15
- Ignace10
- Kenora10
- Ear Falls10
In the other direction the biggest source is Kenora, Unorganized, with 80.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
How Machin’s household incomes compare
Before tax, 2020: lower than in 58% of Canadian towns.
That puts Machin 20% below the median of Ontario’s towns, $91,600. Every other place of 2,500 or more in the Kenora census division has a higher median. That year, 2020, brought emergency benefits that count in these totals, before tax.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Walk, cycle or ride transit: the choice of 3.1% of Machin’s commuters
Nearly everyone drives: 94% of commuters go by car, truck or van. Fewer worked at home than in the middle of Canadian towns: 13% against 21%. Transit barely figures here, against 3.5% 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).
The trip to work from Machin runs about as long as the middle of Canadian towns: 27.8 minutes
Trips under 15 minutes: 39%, more than the 31% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. An hour or more: 12% of commuters, above the 7.9% in the middle of Ontario’s towns. Timed exactly, the average is 26.4 minutes (Statistics Canada).
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.
In the Kenora census division, 11% fewer people receive EI than in 2019
August 2021 was the busiest month, with 3,210 people on EI, 1.8 times 2019’s average. Per 100 residents aged 15 to 64, about 3.8 receive EI. Over the year to August 2026, the count rose by 2%.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. Area behind the EI beneficiaries figures: the Kenora census division. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
Walking in Machin earns C+
Better than 40% of Canadian towns on two measures together.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Machin and its neighbours: work and income
Distances here run 14–78 km: that is how far the nearest places with figures are from Machin.
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machin | 62% | 14% | $73K | 27.8 min | D | C+ |
| Kenora, Unorganized 13.8 km | 74% | 9.4% | $87K | 23.5 min | B | D |
| Dryden 25.2 km | 72% | 8.3% | $82K | 15.2 min | B+ | A− |
| Lac Seul 28 78.4 km | 49% | 12% | $46K | 20.6 min | D | B− |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and the average commute, with both grades once they come.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Machin, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- The Labour Force Survey. Statistics Canada’s monthly survey, published for metro areas and economic regions rather than towns: it gives a current rate beside the census’s 2021 one.
- In work. We divide the number of employed residents by the number aged 15 to 64. Workers past 64 still count on top, because the 2021 Census crosses work with age only for whole municipalities; in return, a retirement town’s pensioners don’t drag the rate down.
- Unemployment. The census-week jobless rate for residents 15 and over. Its base is the labour force, those employed plus those actively looking.
- Household income. Taken from the 2021 Census, which asked about 2020: wages, pensions, investment income and government transfers together, before income tax, for the median household.
- Trip times. The census asks how long the trip to work usually takes, in bands; our average uses each band’s middle, so it runs a little above Statistics Canada’s timed average.
- Where people commute. Statistics Canada’s place-of-work table counts people with a usual place of work by the municipality they live in and the one they work in. Jobs here are people whose usual workplace is in the municipality, wherever they live.
- 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.
- Which towns we compare. Medians over towns and neighbourhoods of at least 2,500 residents. Whole cities would swamp them and reserves sit outside the rankings, so neither is in.
Questions about work in Machin
How long is the commute from Machin?
The average commute is 27.8 minutes; 39% of trips take under 15 minutes and 12% an hour or more.
Where do people in Machin work?
31% work in Machin itself. Of those who leave, the most go to Dryden (140), then Red Lake (15).
How many jobs are there in Machin?
The 2021 census found about 190 people with their usual workplace in Machin, or 0.7 for each resident who travels to a fixed job. In June 2026, 25 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Machin?
The 2021 census found 14% unemployed, against 9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns; the Labour Force Survey’s latest, for the Northwest economic region, is 2.9% (October 2026).
What is the average household income in Machin?
Machin’s middle household had $73,300 in 2020, before tax; Canadian towns have $85,900 at their middle.
How do people in Machin get to work?
94% of commuters drive, 3.1% walk; 13% of everyone in work worked at home on census day.
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) · Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (14-10-0459, 14-10-0462) · Statistics Canada, Canadian Business Counts (33-10-1176) · 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).