Construction Industry

October 2010

· The industry employed about 205,300 people in 2008

· Average annual employment growth rate in the industry between 2009 and 2013 is expected to be -1.1%

Profile

Businesses in this industry are primarily engaged in constructing buildings or engineering projects. Among other activities, they construct, repair or renovate residential, business, commercial and industrial buildings and design and build highways, bridges and pipelines.

Occupations in the industry include bricklayers, carpenters, electricians, roofers and pipefitters.

Performance and outlook

The construction industry is Alberta’s second largest employer. The industry’s share of overall economic activity in Alberta increased in 2008 compared to 1999, as did its share of employment.

Construction activity in Alberta began to slow toward the end of 2008 as demand for oil tumbled and industrial and other building and engineering projects were delayed or cancelled. Contract opportunities in the energy services industry, for example, were limited as oil and gas exploration and drilling activity were scaled back in 2008 and 2009.

Neither residential nor commercial building activity is expected to rebound soon with any real strength and, with slow recovery in the energy industry, growth in construction is expected to be far off the unsustainable pace of recent years. But an overheated labour market has now cooled, bringing cost relief to some. A revival of commodity prices in 2011 will help stimulate construction investments in Alberta.

Growth in industrial building construction is expected to average 0.7 per cent per year between 2009 and 2013, while commercial construction growth is expected to average 2.8 per cent over the same period. Residential investment will decline an average of 1.3 per cent a year through 2013.

As in most industries, the construction industry faces the challenge of prospective long-term labour shortages as older employees begin to retire in greater numbers.

Approximately 13,600 jobs will be lost in the industry by 2013.

For more information see Alberta Career and Industry Outlook or Alberta Industry Profiles.

Occupations in the industry

For a list of occupations and related occupations in this industry, see OCCinfo Search by Industry: Construction page.