Working in Calgary
From Calgarypedia
Contents |
Employment Overview
Calgary has experienced the fastest growth of any city in the western hemisphere over the past 10 years. Due to the booming economy, jobs in Calgary are readily available and easy to find. Calgary currently boasts the lowest unemployment rate in Canada: 3-4%. This is largely due to the 7% employment growth the city has seen annually for the past five years .
Much of the job creation has taken place in the oil and gas industry. However, many other industries (enticed by Calgary’s business climate) are flocking to the city. Calgary is currently home to the head offices of major national and multinational corporations such as Telus and the Royal Bank of Canada. Calgarians are also the highest-paid workers in the country, primarily because Calgary is Canada’s most expensive city to live in. The per capita GDP in 2006 was $69,789 - 56% higher than the national average.
Current Employment Climate
Calgary experienced the second highest labour force growth in the country in 2007 at 4.5%. Over the past ten years, Calgary leads all Canadian cities with a total labour force growth of 33.8%. The average annual labour force growth over the last ten years was 3.5%.
Calgary has the highest labour force participation rate at 76.1%, the annual average over the last ten years being 75.2% . Job growth is strong in Calgary with most of the expansion taking place in the eight key industries of energy, finance and business services, transportation, technology, manufacturing, film, aerospace and creative industries. This chart shows the employment by industry in Calgary:
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Employment Forecast
As the Calgary economy continues to grow, employees will be needed to fill a variety of Calgary jobs in a diverse range of industries. Over the next three years, 1/3 of all jobs in Alberta are going to be created in the Calgary area. The outlook for job creation estimates 90,000 jobs will be created in Calgary over the next five years and 158,000 new jobs over the next 10 years.
Finding a Job in Calgary
The City of Calgary and the Alberta government offer services to help both new and existing residents of Calgary find work. The Alberta Government maintains the Alberta Learning Information Service, which provides links to career development, salary and wage information, re-training, as well as a host of job banks. Working.com, part of the Canada.com network, also hosts a job bank online in conjunction with the Calgary Herald, the largest daily newspaper in the city. In addition, traditional online job banks such as workopolis.com[1] and monster.com[2] host numerous job postings from Calgary and Alberta employers.
External Links
Employment by Industry in Calgary
