Yukon sees fewer businesses overall as construction and professional services grow
Published 4:00 pm Thursday, August 13, 2026
By Jake Howarth
The Yukon Chamber of Commerce sign outside the building it once shared with the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce on June 12, 2025. (Dana Hatherly/Yukon News)
The Yukon’s business landscape is becoming more concentrated in a handful of sectors, according to new figures released by the Yukon Bureau of Statistics.
The territory has fewer businesses than it did six years ago, and more of them are clustered in construction and professional services.
The bureau’s business survey published in August shows the Yukon counted 3,033 businesses in 2025, down from 3,245 in 2019. Construction and professional, scientific and technical services made up 33 per cent of all businesses last year, the highest share in the period.
The 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025 reports all show those two sectors holding the top spots for business counts. Construction ranged from 15 to 16 per cent of all businesses, while professional services rose from 15.9 per cent in 2019 to 17.9 per cent in 2025, according to the bureau.
Employment has followed a similar pattern. Retail trade, accommodation and food services remained the territory’s largest private‑sector employers every survey year. In 2025, retail employed 3,089 workers and accommodation and food services employed 1,831, the bureau says.
Construction employment remained high but fluctuated over the six‑year period. The sector counted 1,796 workers in 2025, compared with 1,701 in 2019, 1,929 in 2021 during the COVID‑19 pandemic, and 1,800 in 2023, according to the Yukon Bureau of Statistics.
The bureau’s reports show home‑based businesses declining over time. They made up 58.6 per cent of all businesses in 2019, compared with 56.4 per cent in 2025. Professional services and construction consistently made up about 40 per cent of all home‑based businesses.
Corporate ownership has increased as well. Corporations made up 38.6 per cent of businesses in 2019 and 46.7 per cent in 2025, according to the bureau. Sole proprietorships fell from 50.9 per cent to 43.7 per cent over the same period.
Exports remained relatively stable.
The bureau says 9.9 per cent of businesses exported goods or services in 2019, compared with 11.3 per cent in 2025. Information and cultural industries had the highest proportion of exporters last year at 38.8 per cent.
The reports also show Whitehorse’s dominance growing. Businesses located in the capital accounted for 73.1 per cent of all firms in 2019 and 79.5 per cent in 2025. Whitehorse consistently employed more than 80 per cent of the workers counted in the survey.
The bureau’s latest release suggests the Yukon’s private‑sector economy is becoming more concentrated, with fewer businesses overall and a growing reliance on the same core industries to drive employment and revenue.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
