Alberta’s construction sector continued its strong post-pandemic recovery in 2022, buoyed by further growth in its new-housing market and by increased activity across its non-residential sector. Market conditions remain strained, as a result, as many residential-sector trades, in particular, reported recruiting challenges.
The outlook calls for construction employment to remain unchanged in 2023, before experiencing a series of contractions through at least 2026 as the residential-construction sector experiences a series of setbacks, with demand for new housing declining.
Activity in the non-residential sector, meanwhile, is underpinned by ongoing major road, highway, health, education, commercial, industrial, and public-transportation projects, as well as growth in the oil and gas sector.
The modest gain (+2%) in non-residential employment that occurs as a result is more than offset by a loss of 10% in residential employment across the 10-year forecast period. Overall employment contracts by 3%. These numbers are based on existing known demands and do not take into account the federal government’s goal to double the number of new homes built across Canada over the next 10 years, nor the anticipated increase in demand for construction services related to the retrofit of existing residential, industrial, commercial, and institutional buildings to accommodate the electrification of the economy.
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