December 2, 2011 – Weekly Market Update
Market Update – Unemployment is down and the real estate market is benefitting. Sales this month compared to last year are up and higher employment rates are a contributing factor.
The article below suggests that some industries in Alberta are facing worker shortages. We should expect those job openings to entice people to move to Alberta which will drive more demand for housing. The rental market is already straining to handle demand and it’s only a matter of time before the resale and new home markets improve as well.
Jobless Rate by Industry – Todd Hirsch, Senior Economist, ATB Financial
The number of people looking for work in Alberta has fallen over the past year. However, the chances of finding work vary by industry—and some sectors are already seeing some serious labour shortages.
Alberta’s overall unemployment rate has fallen from an average of 6.7% during the first three quarters of 2010, to 5.6% in the same period of 2011. The rate was as low as 3.2% in June 2008, and peaked at 7.6% in April 2010.
Unemployment rates by sector vary considerably. The graph below shows major sectors of the job market, and how the rate of joblessness has changed between January-September of 2010 to the same period this year. (Due to space constraints, only major sectors are presented).
The sector with the lowest rate of unemployment in 2011 is health care and social assistance, at only 2.7%. Interestingly, that is the only sector in which the rate has risen this year (up from 2.1% in 2010). In both 2011 and 2010, the sector is experiencing labour shortages.
Workers in professional, scientific and technical services (3.0% unemployment) and mining and oil & gas (3.1%) are also in short supply.
The major sector with the highest rate of unemployment is the construction sector, at 6.9%. However, that is much lower than the 8.4% recorded last year. It’s also lower than Canada’s overall unemployment rate of 7.3%.
