Edmonton Economy

The economy of Edmonton and the rest of the neighboring areas are mostly based on natural resources, mainly the huge natural gas and oil reserves that benefit Alberta. The tar sands in the area which are the source of oil are said to be second only to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is without surprise that Edmonton is the employment center in the petrochemical and petroleum industry, which is considered to be the biggest job sector of the city.

The economy of Edmonton has at all times been motivated by resource wealth. It’s the main center for supply and service for a large area that extends from Alberta to the Arctic Ocean. Energy production such as natural gas, oil sands, conventional oilfield and coal, agriculture, forestry, and lately, diamond mining along Nunavut and the Northwest Territories has been steadily providing the trade and service industry of Edmonton. Another industry that has been steadily increasing is processing and manufacturing, which is especially helpful since Edmonton is looking to expand its economy.

But, the employment sector does not solely rely on the oil and gas industry; there are other significant employment opportunities in Edmonton from various sectors like biotechnology, information technology, and financial services. The city of Edmonton is a center for science and research initiatives and is home to institutions such as Edmonton Research Park, the National Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Alberta, and the Alberta Research Council.

In the employment sector, the greatest growth that Edmonton has attained since 1951 has been in the tertiary or service sector. There are lots of state-of-the-art industries, mostly in information technology and biotechnology, which have been significant in the economy restructure of Edmonton. During the mid-1990s, the military services of Western Canada were merged at a new “superbase” known as the 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Edmonton or known locally as Edmonton Garrison.

The geographical location of Edmonton and its transportation system makes it great for freight, logistics and distribution services. Due to the large number of schools and higher learning institutions teachers are sometimes in high demand, and since it’s the capital of the state, there are a number of government jobs available in Edmonton. The city is also strong in the leisure and retail sector because of establishments like the West Edmonton Mall and downtown shopping districts like Whyte Avenue.

It’s not unusual for many expatriates to relay how quick their job hunting went, for vacancies tend not to be in the ads for long. A lot of employers, especially in the retail and skilled sectors, accept potential workers that apply personally and have been recognized to make job offers on the spot. Edmonton has big international employers such as Afexa Life Sciences, Telus, TD Canada Trust, IBM, Intuit Canada, Bioware, General Electric, and Canadian Western Bank. The minimum wage rate in Edmonton is 10.20 CAD per hour while the average wage rate all over Edmonton is 26.70 CAD. But, salaries in Edmonton greatly depend on a number of factors.