Labour market research centre gives Albertans a leg up in seeking careers

If you’re searching for a new career in a rapidly changing economy, where do you turn for information on the latest employment trends, or to predict where jobs will be five years from now?

The University of Alberta’s new Alberta Centre for Labour Market Research (ACLMR) may be just what you’re looking for. Officially launching this month, it is designed as the first stop for Canadian labour market expertise and high-quality, real-time information and research, says the centre’s new director, economist Joseph Marchand.

Based in the U of A’s College of Social Sciences and Humanities, the centre includes 25 contributing researchers from five Alberta universities, including the universities of Calgary, Lethbridge and Athabasca, and Mount Royal University.

It is the first research centre housed in the university’s newly established college, kick-started with a $1.2-million grant from the Government of Alberta over three years, part of the Alberta at Work initiative aimed at making impartial labour market information available to Albertans.

“It is a place where anyone — whether a policy-maker, business owner, employer, labour organizer or job seeker — can find the best research or researcher that fits their needs,” says Marchand, adding that his team will also welcome research questions from the public.

“A student, for example, could come to us with a question about employment prospects and know it will be answered in some very specific ways.”

The centre aims to help Albertans in all walks of life make informed decisions based on which industries have labour market gaps or surpluses, and will guide the government in designing policies to support Alberta’s workforce in finding stable, long-term careers, he says.

The cyclical nature of Alberta’s economy, along with challenges retaining skilled labour, changing demographics, and the increasing impact of technology and automation are just some of the conditions making access to comprehensive and dynamic data crucial, notes Marchand.

Information can also be “clouded” by the competing biases of various interested parties, he says. “When such misinformation or disinformation is tied to specific ideologies — gathered without the necessary training to understand and properly explain the observed outcomes — the situation becomes more problematic.”

The centre’s network has already begun investigating issues such as the impact of gig work and its implications for older Canadians, the pros and cons of delaying public pension claims, labour mobility, international trade and economic volatility in Canada. Other research papers take up questions of data protection regulation and job satisfaction.

David Finch at Mount Royal University is attempting to forecast skills that will be required in the net-zero energy transition and other sectors in the years to come. Compared with 100 years ago, he says, when workers could expect to have one career over 30 years, today’s five-year-olds are expected to live to 100 on average, with a career lifespan of 60 years.

“Over that time, they will have, on average, 17 jobs across five different industrial sectors.”

Economics doctoral student Yuhan Wang, one of five at the U of A supported by the centre, is doing research on whether unemployed Canadians are more or less motivated to vote in elections. 

“We need more empirical data to investigate that,” she says, adding that the ACLMR provides a “great opportunity” for graduate students to present their work to the public.

Marchand’s team will also identify which skills are needed in Alberta more than in other provinces, he says. “How do we train those individuals here, or acquire them through immigration or from elsewhere in Canada?”

U of A economics professor Laurel Wheeler is investigating the potential for employing Indigenous firms to clean up the legacy oil and gas wells on their land. Marchand’s own research will continue his work over the past decade on the implications of raising Alberta’s minimum wage — applying his analysis across Canada.

According to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, the ACLMR “will fulfil an important role in the government’s efforts to ensure Albertans have access to meaningful support throughout their careers — from students who are mapping out their future to working Albertans making decisions about their next big move.”