Edmonton, Calgary expected to lead job growth to 2020: Survey
Go west, young worker. Or if you’re in British Columbia, go east.
That would be the best advice to jobseekers looking for the brightest employment prospects between 2014 and 2020, according to new research.
Not surprisingly, Edmonton and Calgary were number one and number two for expected job growth, according to CareerBuilder.ca and Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI). Edmonton expects to add more than 59,000 jobs (eight per cent growth) and Calgary is expected to add 62,700 jobs (seven per cent growth).
“Employment grew by an average of 21,300 per month in the six months leading to November, and our findings show that employers will continue adding jobs at a steady pace across a variety of industries and regions,” said Mark Bania, director of CareerBuilder Canada.
See chart below for a full list of growth by job markets.
In-demand careers
The growth won’t be spread evenly across all jobs — some skills will be more in-demand, depending on the city.
Mechanical engineers may want to head to Calgary — it will need 18 per cent more of them by 2020, according to the research. Occupational health and safety inspectors may want to book a ticket for Edmonton, which expects growth of 21 per cent in that field.
See chart below for a full list of growing occupations by city.
Top job growth for Canadian cities
Metro | 2014 Jobs | 2020 Jobs | Change | % Change |
Edmonton | 784,939 | 843,949 | 59,010 | 8% |
Calgary | 848,380 | 911,097 | 62,717 | 7% |
Regina | 147,497 | 156,177 | 8,680 | 6% |
Saskatoon | 169,651 | 179,499 | 9,848 | 6% |
Toronto | 3,330,495 | 3,494,903 | 164,408 | 5% |
Winnipeg | 456,779 | 478,462 | 21,683 | 5% |
Vancouver | 1,368,816 | 1,436,815 | 67999 | 5% |
Montreal | 2,113,591 | 2,190,026 | 76,435 | 4% |
Ottawa - Gatineau | 720,944 | 747,840 | 26,896 | 4% |
Quebec City | 447,774 | 467,436 | 19,662 | 4% |
Halifax | 245,453 | 252,024 | 6,571 | 3% |
Job growth by metropolitan areas
Not all job growth is created equal: Occupational growth will vary across regions. Below is a sampling of occupations with projected growth of 10 per cent or more (from 2014 to 2020) by metropolitan area and the median hourly earnings*.
Calgary:
Occupation | 2014 Jobs | 2020 Jobs | % Growth | Median hourly earnings |
Information systems analysts and consultants | 10,482 | 11,534 | 10 | $41.03 |
Secondary and elementary school teachers and educational counsellors, n.e.c. | 7,450 | 8,391 | 13 | $37.58 |
Mechanical engineers | 5,333 | 6,270 | 18 | $48.08 |
Welders and related machine operators | 7,437 | 8,603 | 16 | $29.04 |
Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers | 6,125 | 7,057 | 15 | $28.71 |
Edmonton:
Occupation | 2014 Jobs | 2020 Jobs | % Growth | Median hourly earnings |
Inspectors in public and environmental health and occupational health and safety | 4,244 | 5,138 | 21 | $36.52 |
Retail salespersons and sales clerks | 29,315 | 32,192 | 10 | $11.72 |
Welders and related machine operators | 11,945 | 13,795 | 15 | $31.06 |
Registered nurses | 13,663 | 15,033 | 10 | $40.90 |
Administrative officers | 12,580 | 14,313 | 10 | $23.86 |
Montreal:
Occupation | 2014 Jobs | 2020 Jobs | % Growth | Median hourly earnings |
Business development officers and marketing researchers and consultants | 12,046 | 14,014 | 16 | $30.65 |
Computer network technicians | 11,569 | 13,456 | 16 | $26.34 |
Community and social service workers | 16,858 | 19,081 | 13 | $22.02 |
University professors | 14,066 | 15,787 | 12 | $37.92 |
Graphic designers and illustrators | 15,308 | 16,851 | 10 | $20.58 |
Halifax:
Occupation | 2014 Jobs | 2020 Jobs | % Growth | Median hourly earnings |
Program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport and fitness | 1,677 | 1,855 | 11 | $10.95 |
Financial and investment analysts | 904 | 1,068 | 18 | $26.98 |
Executive assistants | 1,026 | 1,195 | 16 | $24.60 |
Customer service representatives - Financial services | 1,684 | 1,903 | 13 | $15.47 |
Elementary school and kindergarten teachers | 3,582 | 4,029 | 12 | $31.00 |
Ottawa-Gatineau:
Occupation | 2014 Jobs | 2020 Jobs | % Growth | Median Hourly Earnings |
Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants | 3,939 | 4,554 | 16 | $20.78 |
Software engineers and designers | 10,814 | 12,387 | 15 | $43.22 |
Cooks | 7,096 | 7,818 | 10 | $11.47 |
Lawyers and Quebec notaries | 7,239 | 7,956 | 10 | $41.55 |
Professional occupations in public relations and communications | 6,685 | 7,330 | 10 | $30.94 |
Quebec City:
Occupation | 2014 Jobs | 2020 Jobs | % Growth | Median Hourly Earnings |
Heavy equipment operators (except crane) | 2,400 | 2,839 | 18 | $26.21 |
Specialist physicians | 2,984 | 3,499 | 17 | $28.28 |
Computer network technicians | 3,008 | 3,495 | 16 | $23.29 |
Community and social service workers | 4,239 | 4,855 | 15 | $22.10 |
Grocery clerks and store shelf stockers | 5,625 | 6,255 | 11 | $10.91 |
Regina:
Occupation | 2014 Jobs | 2020 Jobs | % Growth | Median Hourly Earnings |
Computer programmers and interactive media developers | 1,141 | 1,307 | 15 | $33.08 |
Security guards and related occupations | 1,072 | 1,232 | 15 | $13.98 |
Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates | 2,080 | 2,291 | 10 | $17.59 |
Administrative officers | 2,673 | 3,009 | 13 | $23.40 |
Secondary and elementary school teachers and educational counsellors, n.e.c. | 1,446 | 1,637 | 13 | $32.91 |
Saskatoon:
Occupation | 2014 Jobs | 2020 Jobs | % Growth | Median Hourly Earnings |
Electricians (except industrial and power system) | 1,374 | 1,612 | 17 | $27.29 |
Construction trades helpers and labourers | 1,778 | 2,024 | 14 | $17.53 |
Heavy-duty equipment mechanics | 1,016 | 1,159 | 14 | $28.56 |
Secondary and elementary school teachers and educational counsellors, n.e.c. | 2,121 | 2,392 | 13 | $33.60 |
Accounting and related clerks | 1,579 | 1,736 | 10 | $19.73 |
Vancouver:
Occupation | 2014 Jobs | 2020 Jobs | % Growth | Median Hourly Earnings |
Software engineers and designers | 7,303 | 8,454 | 16 | $39.41 |
University professors | 8,149 | 9,350 | 15 | $38.73 |
Welders and related machine operators | 6,902 | 7,890 | 14 | $25.99 |
Shippers and receivers | 13,162 | 14,798 | 12 | $16.94 |
Information systems analysts and consultants | 11,147 | 12,439 | 12 | $34.55 |
Toronto:
Occupation | 2014 Jobs | 2020 Jobs | % Growth | Median Hourly Earnings |
Computer network technicians | 17,284 | 20,309 | 18 | $28.86 |
Secondary and elementary school teachers and educational counsellors, n.e.c. | 42,751 | 50,220 | 17 | $38.32 |
Computer and information systems managers | 20,380 | 23,315 | 14 | $46.36 |
Professional occupations in business services to management | 45,161 | 50,100 | 11 | $33.80 |
Food and beverage servers | 34,341 | 38,029 | 11 | $12.20 |
Winnipeg:
Occupation | 2014 Jobs | 2020 Jobs | % Growth | Median Hourly Earnings |
Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates | 11,496 | 12,844 | 12 | $17.88 |
Community and social service workers | 5,076 | 5,700 | 12 | $16.72 |
Construction trades helpers and labourers | 3,510 | 3,940 | 12 | $18.19 |
Material handlers | 5,496 | 6,080 | 11 | $15.26 |
Security guards and related occupations | 3,608 | 3,972 | 10 | $12.83 |
*Occupational data and job growth projections include employees and self-employed workers. However, because self-employed workers set their own rates, salary data (median hourly earnings) is based on employees only and only cover a percentage of the total jobs.