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Tribal establishments and their employment in the fourth quarter of 2023

Tribal governments—that is, American Indian tribal or Alaska Native village governments—differ in some respects from federal, state, and local governments. While tribal governments operate many establishments that are inherently governmental—such as police departments, courts, and schools—they also often operate for-profit businesses that provide funds for their American Indian tribe or Alaska Native entity. Revenues from these businesses are used to fund tribal government operations, provide for the general welfare of tribal members, and promote tribal economic development.¹ Thus, individuals working for a tribal government may be employed in what might be considered traditional government jobs as well as jobs more often associated with the private sector.

The range of activities performed by tribal governments can be explored by examining data from the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. This program obtains quarterly counts of the number of establishments covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) or Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE), as well as monthly counts of employment in covered establishments. These administrative data are collected for tax purposes and cover more than 95 percent of U.S. jobs.² The QCEW identifies tribal establishments—that is, those establishments owned and operated by American Indian tribes or Alaska Native villages.³

Note that employment in tribal establishments is not a count of employed American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIANs), as establishments owned and operated by American Indian tribes or Alaska Native villages may employ people who are not AIANs. The research data in table 1, generated specifically for this publication, should not be considered a complete count of establishments owned and operated by American Indian tribes or Alaska Native villages.⁴ Nevertheless, these data can illustrate the range of industries in which these establishments operate.

Table 1. Covered establishments and employment in tribal establishments, fourth quarter 2022–2023
Industry	Establishments				Employment
	Fourth Quarter 2022		Fourth Quarter 2023		December 2022		December 2023
	Total (Thousands)	Percent of total establishments	Total (Thousands)	Percent of total establishments	Total (Thousands)	Percent of total employment	Total (Thousands)	Percent of total employment
Total	2.7	100.0	2.8	100.0	337.8	100.0	355.0	100.0
Private industry	1.5	54.7	1.5	55.1	220.1	65.2	232.3	65.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	0.3	9.8	0.3	10.4	6.8	2.0	7.4	2.1
Financial activities	0.1	3.9	0.1	3.9	2.9	0.9	2.9	0.8
Professional and business services	0.2	5.8	0.2	6.4	3.1	0.9	3.5	1.0
Education and health services	0.3	11.6	0.3	11.4	20.7	6.1	21.6	6.1
Leisure and hospitality	0.5	18.9	0.5	18.3	182.6	54.1	192.3	54.2
Casino, including casino hotels	0.3	12.1	0.3	11.8	169.0	50.0	178.1	50.2
Other private industry	0.1	4.9	0.1	4.7	3.9	1.2	4.6	1.3
Public administration	1.2	45.1	1.2	44.9	117.7	34.8	122.7	34.6
Tribal government	1.2	45.1	1.2	44.9	117.7	34.8	122.7	34.6
Notes: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees programs. Tribal establishments are establishments that are owned and operated by American Indian tribes or Alaska Native villages. The other private industry category includes natural resources and mining, construction, manufacturing, information, and other services. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

The number of tribal establishments in the fourth quarter of 2022 and 2023 by industry is shown in table 1. In the fourth quarter of 2023, 45 percent of the 2,800 tribal establishments were in government, with the vast majority in tribal councils, according to data from the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. The QCEW program obtains quarterly counts of the number of establishments covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) or Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE), as well as monthly counts of employment in covered establishments, and identifies tribal establishments—that is, those establishments owned and operated by American Indian tribes or Alaska Native villages. Smaller shares of tribal establishments were in other sectors in the fourth quarter of 2023, including 18 percent in leisure and hospitality, 11 percent in education and health services, and 10 percent in trade, transportation, and utilities. The other 15 percent of tribal establishments were distributed across the remaining industry sectors.

When looking at employment in tribal establishments, the industry distribution is somewhat different. (Again, people employed by tribal establishments are not necessarily AIANs.) In December 2023, 54 percent of all employment in tribal establishments was in leisure and hospitality. Within leisure and hospitality, the majority of jobs were in casinos and casino hotels, which accounted for half of all employment in tribal establishments. Another 35 percent of employment in tribal establishments was in government in December 2023. From December 2022 to December 2023, total employment in tribal establishments increased by 17,000, with more than half of the increase occurring in leisure and hospitality. Employment in tribal government increased by 5,000 from December 2022 to December 2023.

Notes

¹ For example, the National Indian Gaming Commission requires that net revenues from any tribal gaming operation be used for the following purposes: funding tribal government operations or programs, providing for the general welfare of the Indian tribe and its members, promoting tribal economic development, donating to charitable organizations, or helping fund operations of local government agencies. If a tribe is able to adequately provide these services, it may also be able to distribute net revenue in the form of a per capita payment to its members. See https://www.nigc.gov/commission/faqs/detail/what-is-the-commissions-role-in-regulating-indian-gaming.

² For more information on the QCEW program, see the BLS Handbook of methods (https://www.bls.gov/opub/hom/cew/home.htm).

³ To reflect how Indian tribes are treated under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), the QCEW program assigns Indian tribal councils and related establishments to local government ownership. The FUTA requires federally recognized Indian tribes to be treated similarly to state and local governments. Under the law, "Indian tribe" is defined as "any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska Native village or regional or village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and service provided by the U.S. to Indians because of their status as Indians." For more information about the law, see https://oui.doleta.gov/dmstree/uipl/uipl2k1/uipl_1401.htm.

⁴ For several reasons, the QCEW data presented in this article should not be regarded as a complete count of establishments owned and operated by Indian tribes or Alaska Native entities. First, not all establishments owned and operated by Indian tribes or Alaska Native entities are required to file Unemployment Insurance (UI) tax and may not appear in administrative UI records. (See https://oui.doleta.gov/dmstree/uipl/uipl2k1/uipl_1401.htm.) Second, establishments owned and operated by Indian tribes or Alaska Native entities can be difficult to identify. State UI departments are typically not required to identify such establishments in their administrative records. Also, an Indian tribe or Alaska Native entity may have jurisdiction over land in more than one state and may operate establishments outside of the state in which it is primarily located. (See https://www.nigc.gov/commission/faqs/detail/what-is-the-commissions-role-in-regulating-indian-gaming.) Third, the QCEW identifies as Indian tribal establishments only those establishments that are owned and operated by federally recognized tribes; establishments owned and operated by state-recognized tribes or by tribes that are not recognized are not identified. Finally, while the QCEW attempts to identify all individual worksites, sometimes reporting establishments do not break out all of their individual worksites. For example, the QCEW may receive one record with the total employment for a tribal council, a school, and a casino. In this case, the record would be coded to the dominant industry code and would not identify all three units with their correct industry codes.

Last Modified Date: August 26, 2024