Alberta construction industry faces years of job losses: report

Expect to see a lot fewer construction cranes dotting the landscape across Alberta as plummeting oil prices lead to project cancellations and delays, and thousands of job losses across the sector, a new report shows.

According to the latest industry forecast from BuildForce Canada, it could be three years before there’s a rebound in the province, and that’s if oil starts to recover next year.

“Impacts spread out from the oil and gas industry, reaching housing, government and other consumer and business spending. Alberta’s construction industry will face the brunt of the effects,” according to the report from BuildForce, which represents Canada’s construction industry.

It forecasts the Alberta construction industry will shed about 20,000 jobs over the next two years, with losses concentrated in engineering projects and housing.

“This projected decline will be the biggest drop and longest interruption in the province’s growth in more than 20 years,” the report states.

It’s a change in tone from the many of years of job growth and surging activity in Alberta’s construction sector, which lured workers from across Canada and around the world. The report says construction employment in the oil sands industry alone had risen by more than 70 per cent from 2011 to 2014.

Despite the marked downturn in recent months, as oil prices fell by more than half, BuildForce is putting a positive spin on the dismal news.

"While oil prices have sent construction into a downturn, the industry will recover," BuildForce Canada executive director Rosemary Sparks said.

The agency forecasts construction employment across all sectors will rise 6 per cent from record levels in 2014, “as oil prices come back up.”

It’s also encouraging employers to stay focused on recruiting, saying the construction industry will need to hire more than 36,000 new workers to counter the growth in the number of people retiring from the sector over the next decade.

"Despite current conditions, local employers should stay focused on recruitment," said Sparks. "This is key to building the workforce, so it is ready when growth resumes, and retirements rise."

That’s not just in Alberta, but also across Canada, where stronger job growth in some regions will put more pressure on companies to recruit the next generation of workers in the construction sector.

“New construction jobs driven by expansion demand are small compared to the looming increase in retirements, which will add 250,000 hires in replacement demand,” the report states. “Meeting these demands from unemployment, moving the workforce across markets and provinces, and attracting Canada’s youth into construction will not be enough.”

BuildForce forecasts that an extra 100,000 new workers from outside construction “and likely outside of Canada” will be needed to help maintain productivity in the sector.

B.C. is expected to see the most growth in construction jobs over the next decade, driven by current and proposed mining, utility and liquefied natural gas projects, particularly in the northern part of the province. The report says B.C. will lead all other provinces in job growth from 2015 to 2024, with a forecasted 20,000 new jobs in the sector.

Ontario is expected to add about 26,000 construction jobs between now and 2024, with the gains equally divided between the residential and non-residential sectors, the report states.