Rising oil price improves job outlook for Alberta workers
Rising oil price improves job outlook for Alberta workers
From where Bradley Jacques stands, there are just too many other workers in the same position as he - out looking for a steady paycheque in Calgary.
"It's really hard to get good, honest work out here. You have to go for a lot of sub-contracting and labour," said the 27-year-old, who moved to the city from Medicine Hat six months ago to look for a construction job.
"There's not enough stuff that's full-time work," he added. "Ever since we got hit by the last recession, it's been like this."
Although Jacques might not be seeing it on the building sites of Calgary, yet, most observers believe the employment prospects for Albertans will improve in a slow, steady fashion this year.
The province's economy in 2011 will be tempered by natural gas prices - projected to remain low - but the price of oil will pull workers and businesses ahead.
"The coming year clearly is going to be a better year than the year past," said Jason Brisbois, an economist at the University of Alberta's business school.
"Twenty-eleven is going to be a bit of a transition year for us. I think that's true for both Alberta and Canada generally."
Major trading partners, specifically the United States, will continue to lag when it comes to economic recovery, Brisbois said.
At the same time, the energy industry will bounce back with strong crude prices and foreign investment in the oilsands coming from untraditional sources, such as China.
Gary Agnew, a partner at Cenera - a human resource and business consultants firm - said the company's Edmonton office has been hustling to keep up with the demand for mechanics and tradespeople, thanks to the oilsands.
"They've been very, very busy in what's being projected to happen up north," Agnew said.
In Calgary, the company's business is focused more on professional searches and recruiting, and Agnew said there has been a slowdown since mid-November. But he believes that's because companies are quietly planning and structuring budgets for this year.
"There's a lot of preparation right now and nothing's concrete, nothing is in writing," he said.
Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary, said it's surprising that Alberta - with it's continued economic growth - has been lagging other provinces when it comes to job gains.
However, coming out of the last boom, Alberta began in a stronger position with little real unemployment. The worst point in the past three years came in August 2009, when unemployment in the province soared to 7.7 per cent.
Given the intense labour crunch during the last boom, which saw companies compete for workers, it's difficult at times for Albertans to have proper perspective, Hirsch said.
In fact, Alberta is still well above the national average on the employment front; in November, Alberta's unemployment rate sat at 5.6 per cent, while the national average was 7.2 per cent.
"In general, the situation in Alberta is not that bad," he said.
Even with the coming year, Hirsch doesn't believe unemployment is going to dip much below five per cent.
He believes part of the reason a sharp pickup in employment hasn't happened is that when the boom ended, many employers didn't shed their best workers.
These skilled and productive workers are also motivated to work hard to keep their jobs. So even though demand has been returning, employers find the workload is manageable, he added.
Hirsch doesn't believe the province will see any widespread labour shortages until 2012 at the earliest.
Gary Leach, executive director of SEPAC, a group that represents junior and mid-sized oil and gas companies, said the industry is optimistic about 2011.
Lower natural gas prices will exert restraint on the economy and prevent it from ramping up too quickly.
Leach said that balance is definitely better for employers, who had trouble keeping workers during the boom years. "And you know what, longer-term it's better for employees as well," Leach added.
However, Ken Kobly, president and CEO of the Alberta Chambers of Commerce, said centres such as Cold Lake and Lloydminster are already experiencing shortages of skilled tradespeople.
He expects the coming year to see a major tightening of the labour market across the province. The partnership between Suncor and Total, which will see a joint push to develop two oilsands mines and restart construction of the Voyageur upgrader, already has stirred demand.
"We could go from zero to 60 in six months," Kobly predicts.
That change would be good news for Jacques in Calgary, who has had trouble getting more than short stints of work in 2010.
"It's just too competitive. It's too easy to replace a guy."
kcryderman@calgaryherald.com
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Rising+price+improves+outlook+Alberta+workers/4054635/story.html#ixzz1A8I3pfLw
From where Bradley Jacques stands, there are just too many other workers in the same position as he - out looking for a steady paycheque in Calgary.
"It's really hard to get good, honest work out here. You have to go for a lot of sub-contracting and labour," said the 27-year-old, who moved to the city from Medicine Hat six months ago to look for a construction job.
"There's not enough stuff that's full-time work," he added. "Ever since we got hit by the last recession, it's been like this."
Although Jacques might not be seeing it on the building sites of Calgary, yet, most observers believe the employment prospects for Albertans will improve in a slow, steady fashion this year.
The province's economy in 2011 will be tempered by natural gas prices - projected to remain low - but the price of oil will pull workers and businesses ahead.
"The coming year clearly is going to be a better year than the year past," said Jason Brisbois, an economist at the University of Alberta's business school.
"Twenty-eleven is going to be a bit of a transition year for us. I think that's true for both Alberta and Canada generally."
Major trading partners, specifically the United States, will continue to lag when it comes to economic recovery, Brisbois said.
At the same time, the energy industry will bounce back with strong crude prices and foreign investment in the oilsands coming from untraditional sources, such as China.
Gary Agnew, a partner at Cenera - a human resource and business consultants firm - said the company's Edmonton office has been hustling to keep up with the demand for mechanics and tradespeople, thanks to the oilsands.
"They've been very, very busy in what's being projected to happen up north," Agnew said.
In Calgary, the company's business is focused more on professional searches and recruiting, and Agnew said there has been a slowdown since mid-November. But he believes that's because companies are quietly planning and structuring budgets for this year.
"There's a lot of preparation right now and nothing's concrete, nothing is in writing," he said.
Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary, said it's surprising that Alberta - with it's continued economic growth - has been lagging other provinces when it comes to job gains.
However, coming out of the last boom, Alberta began in a stronger position with little real unemployment. The worst point in the past three years came in August 2009, when unemployment in the province soared to 7.7 per cent.
Given the intense labour crunch during the last boom, which saw companies compete for workers, it's difficult at times for Albertans to have proper perspective, Hirsch said.
In fact, Alberta is still well above the national average on the employment front; in November, Alberta's unemployment rate sat at 5.6 per cent, while the national average was 7.2 per cent.
"In general, the situation in Alberta is not that bad," he said.
Even with the coming year, Hirsch doesn't believe unemployment is going to dip much below five per cent.
He believes part of the reason a sharp pickup in employment hasn't happened is that when the boom ended, many employers didn't shed their best workers.
These skilled and productive workers are also motivated to work hard to keep their jobs. So even though demand has been returning, employers find the workload is manageable, he added.
Hirsch doesn't believe the province will see any widespread labour shortages until 2012 at the earliest.
Gary Leach, executive director of SEPAC, a group that represents junior and mid-sized oil and gas companies, said the industry is optimistic about 2011.
Lower natural gas prices will exert restraint on the economy and prevent it from ramping up too quickly.
Leach said that balance is definitely better for employers, who had trouble keeping workers during the boom years. "And you know what, longer-term it's better for employees as well," Leach added.
However, Ken Kobly, president and CEO of the Alberta Chambers of Commerce, said centres such as Cold Lake and Lloydminster are already experiencing shortages of skilled tradespeople.
He expects the coming year to see a major tightening of the labour market across the province. The partnership between Suncor and Total, which will see a joint push to develop two oilsands mines and restart construction of the Voyageur upgrader, already has stirred demand.
"We could go from zero to 60 in six months," Kobly predicts.
That change would be good news for Jacques in Calgary, who has had trouble getting more than short stints of work in 2010.
"It's just too competitive. It's too easy to replace a guy."
kcryderman@calgaryherald.com
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Rising+price+improves+outlook+Alberta+workers/4054635/story.html#ixzz1A8I3pfLw
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