Western Canada sees 80% job gains in service sector

A survey by the Canada West Foundation has confirmed what consulting engineering companies have known for a long time — economic strength in Canada has shifted westward, “with the West leading the nation in economic growth in recent years.” The benchmark survey is entitled “State of the West 2008,” and was released on March 26.
For engineering firms struggling to find staff to complete their bursting order books, it was also no surprise to hear: “the unemployment rate is significantly lower in the West than elsewhere in Canada. From 1990 to 2007, total employment increased almost 40% in the west compared to 24% in the rest of Canada.”
During that time, the report notes, “over 80% of the job gains have been in service industries,” However, it concludes, “the West remains a resource-based economy.”
Almost 60% of all Aboriginal peoples in Canada live in the West, and the Aboriginal population has grown almost three times faster than the non-Aboriginal population between 2001 and 2006.
Immigration into the western provinces has increased in recent years, and at 30% is about the same as the rate in the rest of Canada.