The top Canadian jobs for 2015 – and beyond

Edmonton, Calgary expected to lead job growth to 2020: Survey

Go west, young worker. Or if you’re in British Columbia, go east.

That would be the best advice to jobseekers looking for the brightest employment prospects between 2014 and 2020, according to new research.

Not surprisingly, Edmonton and Calgary were number one and number two for expected job growth, according to CareerBuilder.ca and Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI). Edmonton expects to add more than 59,000 jobs (eight per cent growth) and Calgary is expected to add 62,700 jobs (seven per cent growth).

“Employment grew by an average of 21,300 per month in the six months leading to November, and our findings show that employers will continue adding jobs at a steady pace across a variety of industries and regions,” said Mark Bania, director of CareerBuilder Canada.

See chart below for a full list of growth by job markets.

In-demand careers

The growth won’t be spread evenly across all jobs — some skills will be more in-demand, depending on the city.

Mechanical engineers may want to head to Calgary — it will need 18 per cent more of them by 2020, according to the research. Occupational health and safety inspectors may want to book a ticket for Edmonton, which expects growth of 21 per cent in that field.

See chart below for a full list of growing occupations by city.

Top job growth for Canadian cities

Metro

2014 Jobs

2020 Jobs

Change

% Change

Edmonton

784,939

843,949

59,010

8%

Calgary

848,380

911,097

62,717

7%

Regina

147,497

156,177

8,680

6%

Saskatoon

169,651

179,499

9,848

6%

Toronto

3,330,495

3,494,903

164,408

5%

Winnipeg

456,779

478,462

21,683

5%

Vancouver

1,368,816

1,436,815

67999

5%

Montreal

2,113,591

2,190,026

76,435

4%

Ottawa - Gatineau

720,944

747,840

26,896

4%

Quebec City

447,774

467,436

19,662

4%

Halifax

245,453

252,024

6,571

3%

Job growth by metropolitan areas

Not all job growth is created equal: Occupational growth will vary across regions. Below is a sampling of occupations with projected growth of 10 per cent or more (from 2014 to 2020) by metropolitan area and the median hourly earnings*.

Calgary:

Occupation

2014 Jobs

2020 Jobs

% Growth

Median hourly earnings

Information systems analysts and consultants

10,482

11,534

10

$41.03

Secondary and elementary school teachers and educational counsellors, n.e.c.

7,450

8,391

13

$37.58

Mechanical engineers

5,333

6,270

18

$48.08

Welders and related machine operators

7,437

8,603

16

$29.04

Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers

6,125

7,057

15

$28.71

Edmonton:

Occupation

2014 Jobs

2020 Jobs

% Growth

Median hourly earnings

Inspectors in public and environmental health and occupational health and safety

4,244

5,138

21

$36.52

Retail salespersons and sales clerks

29,315

32,192

10

$11.72

Welders and related machine operators

11,945

13,795

15

$31.06

Registered nurses

13,663

15,033

10

$40.90

Administrative officers

12,580

14,313

10

$23.86

Montreal:

Occupation

2014 Jobs

2020 Jobs

% Growth

Median hourly earnings

Business development officers and marketing researchers and consultants

12,046

14,014

16

$30.65

Computer network technicians

11,569

13,456

16

$26.34

Community and social service workers

16,858

19,081

13

$22.02

University professors

14,066

15,787

12

$37.92

Graphic designers and illustrators

15,308

16,851

10

$20.58

Halifax:

Occupation

2014 Jobs

2020 Jobs

% Growth

Median hourly earnings

Program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport and fitness

1,677

1,855

11

$10.95

Financial and investment analysts

904

1,068

18

$26.98

Executive assistants

1,026

1,195

16

$24.60

Customer service representatives - Financial services

1,684

1,903

13

$15.47

Elementary school and kindergarten teachers

3,582

4,029

12

$31.00

Ottawa-Gatineau:

Occupation

2014 Jobs

2020 Jobs

% Growth

Median Hourly Earnings

Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants

3,939

4,554

16

$20.78

Software engineers and designers

10,814

12,387

15

$43.22

Cooks

7,096

7,818

10

$11.47

Lawyers and Quebec notaries

7,239

7,956

10

$41.55

Professional occupations in public relations and communications

6,685

7,330

10

$30.94

Quebec City:

Occupation

2014 Jobs

2020 Jobs

% Growth

Median Hourly Earnings

Heavy equipment operators (except crane)

2,400

2,839

18

$26.21

Specialist physicians

2,984

3,499

17

$28.28

Computer network technicians

3,008

3,495

16

$23.29

Community and social service workers

4,239

4,855

15

$22.10

Grocery clerks and store shelf stockers

5,625

6,255

11

$10.91

Regina:

Occupation

2014 Jobs

2020 Jobs

% Growth

Median Hourly Earnings

Computer programmers and interactive media developers

1,141

1,307

15

$33.08

Security guards and related occupations

1,072

1,232

15

$13.98

Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates

2,080

2,291

10

$17.59

Administrative officers

2,673

3,009

13

$23.40

Secondary and elementary school teachers and educational counsellors, n.e.c.

1,446

1,637

13

$32.91

Saskatoon:

Occupation

2014 Jobs

2020 Jobs

% Growth

Median Hourly Earnings

Electricians (except industrial and power system)

1,374

1,612

17

$27.29

Construction trades helpers and labourers

1,778

2,024

14

$17.53

Heavy-duty equipment mechanics

1,016

1,159

14

$28.56

Secondary and elementary school teachers and educational counsellors, n.e.c.

2,121

2,392

13

$33.60

Accounting and related clerks

1,579

1,736

10

$19.73

Vancouver:

Occupation

2014 Jobs

2020 Jobs

% Growth

Median Hourly Earnings

Software engineers and designers

7,303

8,454

16

$39.41

University professors

8,149

9,350

15

$38.73

Welders and related machine operators

6,902

7,890

14

$25.99

Shippers and receivers

13,162

14,798

12

$16.94

Information systems analysts and consultants

11,147

12,439

12

$34.55

Toronto:

Occupation

2014 Jobs

2020 Jobs

% Growth

Median Hourly Earnings

Computer network technicians

17,284

20,309

18

$28.86

Secondary and elementary school teachers and educational counsellors, n.e.c.

42,751

50,220

17

$38.32

Computer and information systems managers

20,380

23,315

14

$46.36

Professional occupations in business services to management

45,161

50,100

11

$33.80

Food and beverage servers

34,341

38,029

11

$12.20

Winnipeg:

Occupation

2014 Jobs

2020 Jobs

% Growth

Median Hourly Earnings

Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates

11,496

12,844

12

$17.88

Community and social service workers

5,076

5,700

12

$16.72

Construction trades helpers and labourers

3,510

3,940

12

$18.19

Material handlers

5,496

6,080

11

$15.26

Security guards and related occupations

3,608

3,972

10

$12.83

*Occupational data and job growth projections include employees and self-employed workers. However, because self-employed workers set their own rates, salary data (median hourly earnings) is based on employees only and only cover a percentage of the total jobs.

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