By Sheldon Spackman

Workforce takes big hit

Over 22,000 fewer people working in Red Deer region than two years ago

Jan 13, 2021 | 4:40 PM

Despite a modest drop in the Red Deer region’s unemployment rate from 10.4 per cent in November to 9.6 per cent in December, officials with the Chamber of Commerce, however, say it’s more important to note a big drop in the number of people working in the area.

Reg Warkentin, Policy and Government Relations Manager for the Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce, highlights the latest labour force statistics which show over 22,400 fewer people working in the Red Deer economic region from December 2018 to December 2020 – an 18.2 per cent reduction in the local workforce.

“It’s really important that we don’t focus on the unemployment rate as a percentage, and that we actually look at the hard data of the number of people who are actively working and those that are seeking employment through the participation rate and those who are listed as unemployed, meaning they’re actively looking for opportunities,” he explains.

He describes the current numbers as distressing.

“It really encapsulates the massive stress our central Alberta economy is facing,” adds Warkentin. “I think it really shows the importance of taking actions that will increase employment opportunities and help get us back on the right track.”

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One of the first steps in moving forward says Warkentin, is to quickly get frontline workers and those who are most vulnerable vaccinated.

“Hopefully that will allow our businesses to reopen,” he exclaims. “Things like our gyms, our salons and restaurants and bars for in-person service. I think our members have demonstrated a high level of proficiency of managing the health guidelines of masking and social distancing and managing capacity differently.”

Warkentin says lockdowns are simply not sustainable or a long-term solution to managing the virus.

“We’re really at a tipping point,” he suggests. “It’s going to come down to how the future restrictions are managed, how the vaccination program rolls out, and consumer and business confidence and their willingness to continue to invest in our economy and try and grow their businesses through the huge uncertainty and challenges created by this virus.”

Dion Zukiwsky, Branch Manager at ScotiaMcLeod Scotia Wealth Management in Red Deer, says the big drop in our local workforce over the past two years reflects an already struggling energy sector and business shutdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

He says local companies have learned to become leaner and more efficient with what they have.

“Unfortunately in having to do that, that may include less jobs available at the same time,” he explains. “But when we point the lense the other way, there is some hope on the horizon. Commodity prices are starting to come back up and hopefully with global growth starting to take shape after COVID subsides later this year, hopefully some of those jobs will be able to come back and we’ll start to see more people in the workforce.”

Zukiwsky remains cautiously optimistic though moving forward.

“In the oil and gas sector, rig counts are starting to come back up which is super positive for our industry and there’s been some areas that have held in there pretty well over the last few years too,” he points out. “Like agriculture has been doing O.K., so there are some sectors that can help offset some of the more cyclical ones.”

Meanwhile, Aaron Sheppard, a director with the Career Assistance Network in Red Deer, acknowledges a big off-load of workers from some major employers in the energy sector over the past few years.

“Some that just left that were here for years like Schlumberger, Haliburton and some of the other major players,” he remarks. “Then over the last year we’ve seen some very uncertain times because of COVID and a lot of people taking a real hard look at where they are and what they’re doing and the struggle of how to find employment.”

Sheppard adds, however, there are still opportunities out there.

“But you have to be more of a cavalier and a maverick to try and jump out there and be a self-promoter in connecting with companies, as opposed to waiting for a job add,” shares Sheppard. “The average add gets around 300 applications in normal times, so you’re going to have that exponentially higher now. It’s the highest competition with the lowest opportunity to find work.”

According to Sheppard, stats show roughly 70 per cent of people find their next job or offer through a formal or informal networking contact.

“Going online you can search and you can find with Linked In now, the direct HR people inside of any company you want to work for in most cases by their public profile on Linked In,” he explains. “So why would I not skip the cue? I want to go talk to decision makers, tell my stories, see where I’m at, so that I’m a familiar option when jobs do come up and not just some random name in a pile.”