BuildForce Canada has released its annual ‘Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward’ highlights for the maritime provinces. BuildForce reports that in an effort to provide the construction industry with an outlook more focused on immediate labour force challenges, BuildForce has shortened the outlook window from a 10-year to a six-year outlook period. According to BuildForce, these reports help decision makers anticipate labour force requirements and identify the trades and occupations the industry is most likely to need across a six-year forecast scenario.
The BuildForce Canada 2022-2027 Construction and Maintenance Looking Forward reports and analyses incorporate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry as of the fall of 2021.
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia’s construction market is in the midst of a period of sustained growth propelled by major public-sector investments and rising demands for new residential construction. These factors will combine to bring sectoral employment to a peak in 2023, before receding sLightly through 2027.
New Brunswick
New Brunswick’s construction market strengthened in 2021, and should reach a peak in 2022, before receding modestly through 2027.
The new labour market forecast released today by BuildForce Canada suggests that near-term demand for construction services will come in the new-home and industrial, commercial, and institutional building sectors. Residential demands will remain at or near recent highs through 2024, while the completion of major institutional projects will lower non-residential demands through 2026.
Newfoundland and Labrador
The new labour market forecast prepared by BuildForce Canada suggests that Newfoundland and Labrador’s construction and maintenance industry will reach an employment peak in 2023 before contracting by about 16%, or nearly 2,300 workers, to the end of 2027.
The province’s construction labour market enjoyed a recovery in 2021, after experiencing a steep decline in employment in 2020. The sector’s recovery was led by a strong surge in new-home construction, which is expected to be sustained in the near term.
Prince Edward Island
Construction employment in Prince Edward Island enjoyed a recovery in 2021 and should continue to growth through 2022 on the strength of increased residential and non-residential demands. Activity will moderate after 2023 and through 2027, however, as key projects wind down and labour markets will return to more balanced conditions.
BuildForce Canada’s labour market forecast for Prince Edward Island projects that employment in the province’s construction and maintenance industry will gain 400 workers (7%) through the end of 2022 before retreating moderately (3.6% below 2021 levels) through 2027.
The BuildForce provincial Forecast Summary Reports can be downloaded here.
