Carpenter

The employment outlook will be Moderate for carpenters (NOC 72310) in Alberta for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to several new positions.
• Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are several unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

• Labour shortages are expected in the construction trades for the forecast period. 
• Provincial infrastructure spending for the upgrade and construction of schools and highways will support employment opportunities in non-residential construction for the forecast period. 
• New housing starts in Alberta are expected to remain strong due to a growing population driving demand.  The new federal agency, Build Canada Homes, will help accelerate the construction of affordable homes in Alberta in the near future.
• Renovation investment is expected to steadily increase to maintain older housing and allow homeowners to age in place. 

Here are some key facts about carpenters in Alberta:

• Approximately 15,450 people work in this occupation.
• Carpenters mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Construction (NAICS 23): 86%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 91% compared to 80% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 9% compared to 20% for all occupations
• 50% of carpenters work all year, while 50% work only part of the year, compared to 61% and 39% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 41 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 38% of carpenters are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: more than 95% compared to 53% for all occupations
  • Women: less than 5% compared to 47% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 15% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 31% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 38% compared to 13% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 11% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: less than 5% compared to 21% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations