By Surrey Board of Trade | January 31, 2022
Construction Sector in Surrey Lags in Jobs Recovery; Manufacturing in Surrey is up Over 2,300 Jobs
The January 2022 Surrey Labour Market Intelligence Report has been released by the Surrey Board of Trade.
“Health care, natural resources, public administration, and tech sectors are leading Surrey’s job recovery,” said Anita Huberman, President & CEO, Surrey Board of Trade. “The single largest percentage growth in terms of occupational categories has been in natural resources positions at 68.6%. Many British Columbians do not realize the extent to which non-agriculture resource companies are prevalent in Surrey and how these impact employment in other sectors.”
The construction sector in Surrey continues to lag in its jobs recovery – even further so in December 2021, down over 8,300 jobs since the pandemic started. The construction-driven trades, transport and equipment operator category remains over 9,000 jobs below February 2020 levels – also impacted by a lagging transportation sector recovery in Surrey.
Of 15 industry categories, seven of them in Surrey have employment levels still below February 2020. Recovery is going in the right direction, but some sectors are still struggling and need support.
The sectors most impacted and still not fully recovered in Surrey are estimated to be:
· Construction is still down over 8,347 jobs or -25.6%
· Business, building & other support is down over 2,600 jobs or -18.3%
· Accommodation & food services is lower than pre-pandemic by over 2,000 jobs or -10.6%
· Other services (personal services, high-touch jobs) is down almost 2,000 jobs or -14.6%
· While utilities only lost 618 jobs since the pandemic, this represents a -36.7% drop in this relatively small Surrey industry
The sectors showing the greatest recovery since February 2020 in Surrey are estimated to be:
· Wholesale & retail trade has rebounded with almost 6,400 new jobs for a 12.4% increase
· Health care & social assistance is up by over 5,400 jobs or 15.6%
· Public administration employment is up almost 4,800 jobs or 50.8% in Surrey, perhaps from back to school trends
· Manufacturing in Surrey is up over 2,300 jobs since before the pandemic with an 8.7% increase
· While gaining over 2,000 jobs, the natural resources sector saw a large percentage recovery in Surrey at 68.6% since February 2020