The territory's unemployment rate reached a new historic low in December, according to numbers recently released by the Yukon's Bureau of Statistics.

The unadjusted employment figures showed the month's unemployment rate at 2.6 per cent. It is more than one per cent lower than the previous record of 3.8 per cent seen in October and November.

Prior to October 2006, the previous historic low appeared in September 2005 at 4.2 per cent.

Following that low, the rate then slowly rose over the winter months, reaching 5.7 per cent in March before dropping throughout the spring and summer, plateauing, then falling again last month.

More Yukoners were also working full-time jobs in December, up 100 people when compared to November. It is also 500 more people when compared to December 2005.

It's the first time the number of people working full-time has risen, rather than decreased, since August.

The Yukon has seen a spike in part-time positions for many months.

The number of part-time jobs in the territory hit a 68-month high in January 2005, when 3,100 individuals were working in the positions. It was a number that had not been seen since April 2000.

Since January 2005, there was a decreasing trend of part-time positions that continued until the spike in September, when it rose to 2,000 workers and continued that rising trend until November.

In December, however, the number fell by 200 people, putting 2,200 Yukoners listed as working part-time. It is 800 fewer part-time employees than during the same period in 2005.

Approximately 15,000 Yukoners were employed in December; 12,800 were working full-time jobs.

The overall number of employees in the Yukon diminished by 100 people compared to November.

The size of the territory's labour force, which includes those aged 15 and up, tumbled by 300 when compared to November and is down by 500 people from the same period last year.

The participation rate of the Yukon labour force was at 71.6 per cent in December, down 1.4 per cent compared to November. The participation of Yukon workers was also down 2.4 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

The employment rate for the month was at 69.8 per cent, a 0.4 per cent drop compared to November and a 1.4 per cent drop from the year prior.

There were 400 individuals unemployed in December down 200 when compared to November and down 300 from 2005.

Meanwhile, 6,100 individuals were defining themselves as not in the labour force, meaning they weren't seeking employment.

It is a rise of 200 people compared to November and up 500 from December 2005.

When looking at the yearly average for 2006, the Yukon's labour force has shrunk in size compared to the year prior, falling by 233 people or 1.4 per cent.

The average number of people employed in the territory also decreased by 141 or 0.9 per cent.

An average of 15,467 people were employed in the Yukon during the year. In 2005, there were 15,608 people working in theYukon.

The unemployment average decreased slightly to an average of 4.6 per cent for the year. It is a 0.5 per cent difference compared to 2005's average of 5.1 per cent.

On a national level, Canada's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in December was 6.1 per cent, down 0.4 per cent compared to 2005.

The bureau has been monitoring employment statistics since 1992.