Local Economy

Employment Opportunities in Wood Buffalo

Workers in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (Fort McMurray) have three main types of employment opportunities:
– Oil and gas industry (oil sands surface mines, in-situ operations and servicing)
– Construction industry (industrial, commercial and residential)
– Support industries such as service/retail, education, government, health care, and transportation.

There are dozens of oil sands companies operating in the region. There are hundreds of construction comanies, hundreds of oil sands service and maintenance companies, and thousands of other companies. With a population of almost 100,000 people and rapid growth in the region, there are certainly many great employment opportunities. However, a job search here is just like a job search anywhere else. There is no one-stop-shop for finding a job in the region.

For general information about the labour market in Wood Buffalo, read the Labour Market News.

To find employers that hire in the Wood Buffalo area, look at our Employer Websites section. Employers are organized by occupation group and then further by trade.

Unemployment Rate

The unemployment rate for Wood Buffalo/Cold Lake (including Fort McMurray), can be found at theAlberta Employment and Immigration Labour Market Information website.

Description of unemployment rates

  • 7% and higher Surplus Labour Market
  • 4% to 6% Balanced Labour Market
  • 3% and lower Shortage Labour Market

Sources for monthly employment and unemployment rates:

This page will also have a drop down menu with information categories:

– Oil Sands

– Construction

– Service Retail

– Transportation

– Forestry

– Health

– Government Education

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