The Alberta Economy

[Flusher]

Unemployment in Manitoba is at an all-time low. Apparently there's a huge labour force shortage because everyone has moved to Alberta (certainly not because empolyment opportunities are great here...). This seems to have been a trend for about a decade; I'm quite surprised to hear that Alberta is having problems too.

Screw it, I'm joining the military.
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[Doug]

Originally Posted by Flusher

Unemployment in Manitoba is at an all-time low. Apparently there's a huge labour force shortage because everyone has moved to Alberta (certainly not because empolyment opportunities are great here...). This seems to have been a trend for about a decade; I'm quite surprised to hear that Alberta is having problems too.

Our construction buisness is at an all time high. They cant keep up with the demand for new houses, etc. Try finding a brick layer or getting your stucco finished. Bad enough to even get yer landscaping done.

The new flood diversion is even having trouble getting employees and the new hydro dam is going to be starting up soon.

Plus our housing costs are raising dramatically, although certainly not to the extent of BC & Alberta.

[Flusher]

Ha ha, construction is another beast altogether, as I understand it. My bro works for PCL as a carpenter. He says that Manitoba has the worst wages for construction workers nationally. Apparently the difference is revolting.

There actually are lots of employment opportunities here, but nothing good. I think it's a quantity vs. quality issue. Set your standards low and you might make $13/hr. That's a whopping $27000/yr. I was making $40k/yr awhile back and I still had problems keeping up with the bills while living in an "affordable" townhouse complex. I worked 50 hours a week earning $23000/yr last year. It was barely worth my while to go to work.

I figure if the cost of living in Manitoba skyrockets like in other provinces, people here will smarten up and move to a new province.
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[DanG]

Originally Posted by Flusher

I figure if the cost of living in Manitoba skyrockets like in other provinces, people here will smarten up and move to a new province.

Looked at housing prices lately? While not as bad as AB or BC, $100k gets you a nice dump in the north end.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

$100,000 won't get you an outhouse in the Lower Mainland. (slight exaggeration, but not much)

Any half decent house in Burnaby is now approaching $500,000 or higher.

[Midknight]

$135 will get you a small 2 bedroom condo. Blaaa... Don't want to be a brick in the wall.

[danny zubot]

I figure if the cost of living in Manitoba skyrockets like in other provinces, people here will smarten up and move to a new province.

I've been growing quite concerned with this issue lately as well. Real estate has been skyrocketing (sp) in Calgary, but my wages haven't been. How am I supposed to buy a bigger house (with #2 on the way) without moving to a rural community? I've been tempted to start looking for work in the Kooteney's but I'm not sure if my line of work even exists out there!

Anyway, if anyone in Cow town needs to sell a 1500sq or bigger home, I'll be in the market soon.