One-third of Indigenous workers in jobs facing automation threat, report says

TORONTO — A new report has found one-third of Canada’s Indigenous workers are in jobs facing a high risk of being automated.

Researchers at the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute and the Future Skills Centre spent roughly a year studying 33 sectors and how advances in automation will affect Indigenous workers in those industries.

They found about 250,000 jobs or 33.8 per cent of roles held by Indigenous workers across Canada are concentrated in industries with a high risk of automation.

Indigenous workers in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Prince Edward Island are more at risk from automation than non-Indigenous workers in these provinces, according to the study.

The report also says 131,000 Indigenous workers are employed in sectors with the highest levels of automation risk, including accommodation and food services, retail trade, construction, transportation and warehousing, and management and administration.

Those at-risk industries account for approximately $2.43 billion of Indigenous wage revenue.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2020.

The Canadian Press

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