Residential Building and Major Projects Help Sustain Employment in Saskatchewan

OTTAWA, ON--(Marketwired - January 31, 2017) - Modest gains in new home building this year, a second wave of planned mining, utility and pipeline projects, and a steady rise in maintenance work will help restore construction employment to previous highs by 2021, according to the latest labour market forecast released today by BuildForce Canada.

"Construction employment will sustain at high levels as residential building and major projects cycle up and down this decade," said Rosemary Sparks, Executive Director of BuildForce Canada. "Meeting rising labour requirements by 2020, will mean persuading many of the workers who may have left the province to head back."

BuildForce Canada's 2017-2026 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward forecast shows new home construction is expected to recover this year, sustaining stable levels of residential employment through to 2022. After that, slower population growth reduces housing starts and related employment. Industrial, commercial and institutional (ICI) building is expected to decline over the short term, then resume after 2019 depending on the timing of a series of planned utility, pipeline and mining projects. Employment will decline with the completion of major projects, however rising maintenance and sustaining capital work will help keep construction employment at relatively high levels.

BuildForce Canada's forecast also shows:

• Major projects are expected to add 2,200 jobs, a 15 percent increase by 2021;
• Projects completions release more than 4,000 workers, with many absorbed by rising maintenance and other non-residential construction markets;
• The need to replace over 9,000 workers expected to retire within ten years.

"Industry needs to stay focused on recruiting new workers even when construction growth slows," added Sparks. "The slower economy compounds the challenge of replacing 17 percent of the skilled workforce that's expected to retire this decade."

BuildForce Canada is a national industry-led organization that represents all sectors of Canada's construction industry. Its mandate is to provide accurate and timely labour market data and analysis, as well as programs and initiatives to help manage workforce requirements and build the capacity and the capability of Canada's construction and maintenance workforce. Visit: www.constructionforecasts.ca

Funded by the Government of Canada's Sectoral Initiatives Program