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February 2023 Edition |
Did you know?
- There are 18 Workforce Consultants (WFC) in communities across Alberta. WFCs provide employers with tools and resources to help them recruit, retain and strengthen their workforce.
- Employment rose by 0.9% (+20,700) from the previous month and by 4.3% (+99,400) when compared to same period last year.
- Full-time employment rose by 6,800 while part-time employment increased by 13,800. Employer Resources
Provincial Continuous Programs
Canada Alberta Job Grant - The Canada-Alberta Job Grant (CAJG) gives eligible Alberta businesses an opportunity to increase their productivity, the skill levels of their employees, and their ability to retain workers. Did you know:
- The CAJG cover 66% of training costs for current employees to a maximum of $10,000 per trainee per year.
- If hiring and training an unemployed Albertan, up to 100% of training costs are covered, up to $15,000 per trainee.
- The CAJG covers direct training costs, including: tuition fees, exam fees, textbooks, software and eligible travel costs.
- Applications are accepted year-round.
- Visit alberta.ca/CAJG to apply.
Indigenous Employment Training Partnerships Program - Grants for eligible Indigenous organizations to assist the unemployed or under-employed with skills training and work experience.
Technology Alberta FIRST Jobs Pilot Program - The FIRST (First Industry Research Science Technology) Jobs program offers a work placement and meaningful work experience for a current student or recent graduate of an Alberta post-secondary institution while supporting the growth of Alberta’s SME Tech Sector. The student placement is to be a remote integrated learning and work experience. Relevant professional topics are situated in the context of the workplace and are offered as a vehicle to enhance workplace performance – both for the young professionals and for the companies themselves.
CAREERS – a non-profit organization that brings together industry, schools, government and communities to guide youth into successful career paths. CAREERS works with Alberta schools to connect students to employers for paid internships. The Youth Internship Incentive Program provides qualified employers with up to $3600 per intern.
Driving Back to Work – a grant program to support unemployed Albertans pursuing careers in the trucking industry.
Employment Standards – rules, regulations and compliance measures for employers and employees in Alberta workplaces.
Labour Market Partnership Grants (LMP) – provide funding to community organizations to support labour market adjustment strategies and workforce development, including initiatives to attract and retain workers through partnerships. Contact your local WFC to discuss further.
OHS eNews - December 2022 – a monthly e-newsletter with the latest Occupational Health and Safety news and events.
Alberta Advantage Immigration Program | Alberta.ca - The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP), formerly the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program, is an economic immigration program that nominates people for permanent residence in Alberta. Nominees must have skills to fill job shortages or be planning to buy or start a business in Alberta. They must also be able to provide for their families. The program is run by the governments of Alberta and Canada.
Trades Secrets – information about apprentice services, certification, trades in Alberta, regulations and resources.
Agriculture Job Connector – matching workers with employers to fill agriculture and agri-food jobs.
Alberta Purchasing Connection (APC) – easy to use tool that lets public and private sector users manage, advertise, distribute and download public purchasing opportunities for goods, services, and construction in Alberta. With APC, purchasers advertise opportunities for tender and vendors find opportunities to sell their products or services.
Business Link | Free Small Business Advice in Alberta – resources to assist small businesses to start and thrive.
Federal/Other
Empowering Futures for Apprentices - The Empowering Futures Program is Canada’s Student Work Placement Program for the electricity industry. Aimed at preparing students for the future of work, the program will create new work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities in electricity by providing subsidies of up to $7,000 per student position to the organizations who create these new opportunities.
Jobs and Growth Fund in Western Canada - The Jobs and Growth Fund provides funding to businesses and organizations to help create jobs and position local economies for long-term growth. The Fund, delivered by Canada’s regional development agencies (RDAs), provides $700 million nationally over 3 years, which includes up to $70 million dedicated to businesses created after January 2020 that meet eligibility criteria.
Community Futures Alberta – offers business loans, resources, mentoring, guidance and support for rural small business owners and entrepreneurs.
Job Bank - Employer Resources – advertise your job for free to thousands of job seekers across Canada. Job Bank’s free tools and resources can help you find, hire, and retain the right workers, learn about diversity and inclusion in the workplace, explore the job market and stay informed about employment standards. Jobs for Ukraine provides information on how to promote jobs to Ukrainians coming to Canada to escape the crisis in their country.
Wage subsidies and other assistance programs - Canada.ca – information to help you hire the right employees for your business.
Career ExpressWay (truckinghr.com) - Trucking HR Canada’s Career ExpressWay Program supports employers with recruitment efforts, helping them take advantage of industry specific financial incentives while connecting them with career seekers.
Careers In Energy – Careers in Energy employer resources are free and available to all energy industry employers from small, to mid-size and large companies. These resources are designed to help organizations’ hiring and retention practices evolve and shift with the changing skills and knowledge demands of the energy sector.
Tourism HR Canada – has launched a new survey to inform a compensation study for the Canadian tourism and hospitality sector. The aim is to get a comprehensive picture of how tourism business operators think about compensation within the context of COVID-19 recovery and the ongoing labour crunch affecting the sector. Click here to learn more and participate in the survey.
Labour Market Information
Provincial
- Alberta’s unemployment rate was up by 0.4 percentage points in January as the labour force grew by 33,200 persons while the number of employed rose by 20,700. The unemployment rate in the province at 6.0% exceeds the national rate of 5.0%.
- On a month-over-month basis, the rise in employment was due to an increase in part-time employment (+13,800) and full-time employment (+6,800). The largest contributors by industry were professional, scientific and technical services; wholesale and retail trade; construction; and healthcare and social assistance.
- The labour force participation rate increased by 0.7 percentage points compared to the previous month, as 33,200 people joined the labour force. On a year-over-year basis, the participation rate is up by 0.3 percentage points.
- In January 2023, the unemployment rate for Indigenous peoples living off reserve in Alberta was 6.6%. This is down 0.2 percentage points from December 2022 and down 5.1 percentage points from the same month last year.
- The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate among Alberta youths aged 15 to 24 was 10.3% in January 2023, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous month. The youth unemployment rate is down 1.8 percentage points from the same time last year.
- Alberta’s average hourly wage for January 2023 decreased 0.1% to $34.04 compared to last month. This was the highest rate among all provinces. Compared to the same month last year, the January 2023 average hourly wage was up 2.7 per cent.
- The number of job postings in Alberta rose by 24.2% (+7,570 postings) from December 2022 to 38,809 in January 2023. This is up 14.8% (+5,015 postings) from January 2022.
- On a month-over-month basis, job postings increased across all economic regions. Note that job postings are weakest in December with rebounds in job posting activity typically occurring at the start of the year.
- The largest growth in job postings were in the following occupations:
- Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers (+293);
- Material handlers (+212);
- Other customer and information services representatives (+179);
- Delivery service drivers and door-to-door distributors (+167); and
- Retail and wholesale trade managers (+156).
- Labour Market Notes February 2023
- Skills Profiles of Jobs in Demand in Alberta and regions (see attached) - This quarterly publication looks at top skills and attributes (level of education and work experience) desired by employers in the current job market.
Some highlights related to the fourth quarter of 2022 are as follows:
- Inventory management and merchandising ranked as a top specialized skill across all economic regions in the province.
- Communication and customer service were the top common skills valued by employers across the eight economic regions.
- Knowledge of Microsoft packages such as Excel, Office, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word were valuable software skills to possess based on job postings information for Q4 2022.
- The top skills identified above for Q4 are similar to that of the previous quarter, though the number of unique job postings decreased across all economic regions (ERs) in Alberta between Q3 and Q4 of 2022. Note that job postings are typically lower in the fourth quarter.
- Hiring Bulletins for January 2023 – see attached
- Look up Wages and Salaries in Alberta - ALIS - Find wage and salary information for occupations in Alberta. Information is based on the 2021 Alberta Wage and Salary Survey. Use the search filters to narrow your results.
- 2021-22 Annual Population Report
- TOURISM HR CANADA General Population Survey - January 25th, 2023 - Perceptions of Tourism as a Place of Employment Research. See attached.
Regional
- Note: Lloydminster and Vermilion are in the Camrose-Drumheller Region. Lac La Biche and Bonnyville are in the Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake Region.
- The following number of jobs have been posted online and represents the hiring demand:
- Bonnyville: 177 job postings in January 2023. 122 job postings in December 2022. 45.1% increase from the previous month.
- Cold Lake: 192 job postings in January 2023. 168 job postings in December 2022. 14.3% increase from the previous month.
- Lac La Biche: 81 job postings in January 2023. 68 job postings in December 2022. 19.1% increase from the previous month.
- Lloydminster: 275 job postings in January 2023. 247 job postings in December 2022. 11.3% increase from the previous month.
- Vermilion: 57 job postings in January 2023. 72 job postings in December 2022. 20.8% decrease from the previous month.
Workforce Development Opportunities
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will be offering a virtual learning series for employers National Learning Series These virtual information sessions are free and are held by an IRCC outreach officer starting in mid-February.
- Destination Canada Job Forum-March 2023 - Recruitment activities targeting different sectors will put French-speaking and bilingual candidates in contact with Canadian employers. These activities are free and take place entirely online. Canadian employers with job openings in the identified sectors are invited to communicate their positions
- Lloydminster & Region Job Fair – March 8th, 2023, from 11 am – 6 pm at the Lloydminster Gold Horse Casino. All employers and industries are welcome to this community wide job fair.
- Lac La Biche Job Fair with Teams Alberta – March 30, 2023, from 11 am – 6 pm. Contact Caddie Blood to register an employer booth, 780-520-7644 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
- Level Up Lakeland is a new event brought to you by the Bonnyville Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Community Futures Lakeland. It is your one stop shop for all your workforce needs combining workshops, career fair and businesses buy and sell under one roof. April 12, 2023, from 10 am – 9 pm.
- Register here to be an exhibitor at the Bi-Provincial Try-A-Trade on April 26, 2023, from 9:00 am – 2:30 pm. The Try-A-Trade event is held in Lloydminster and is a platform for educational institutions and businesses to showcase their industry or trade by engaging with youth and the public in a hands-on experience. Attend this event to take a proactive approach to addressing labour shortages and to promote current/future job opportunities.
- Upcoming Business Support Network Meetings (BSN) in the region:
- Paul Business Support Network meeting is scheduled for March 9, 2023, from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm at Portage College. Guest Speaker Matt Peck Regional Innovation Network Coordinator. New participants are welcome to attend.
- Bonnyville Business Support Network meeting is scheduled for April 20, 2023, from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm at the Bonnyville Neighbourhood Inn. Pre-registration required.
- The BSN meetings provide a forum to share ideas, and exchange information on current labour market trends to identify and address workforce issues.
Articles of Interest
Putting our backs into it: Taking action on labour shortages
Illuminate Opportunity: Equity in the Workplace
Aging workforce the root of Canada's labour shortage | CTV News
Want a job? You'll have to convince our AI bot first | CBC News
Insights on Retaining Employed Family Caregivers in Your Talent Pool
