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About half of Canadians are worried about their ability to change jobs or find comparable work, but such worries are even higher in Alberta despite a strong labor market, MNP Ltd. says.
Nationally, 55 percent of workers polled for MNP by Ipsos said they were worried about job mobility and opportunities, much higher than Grant Bazian, president of MNP, expected.
“But when you have a majority over half the population, or at least a poll that shows there was concern about it, for me that was a bit of an eye-opener,” he said. “I credit that to just so much uncertainty in the world right now.”
Labor mobility concerns were 61 percent among Albertans, “the highest proportion among the provinces,” according to the survey, but such fears in Ontario were a close second at 60 percent.
“Big picture, Albertans have experienced a lot more economic cycles than most other Canadians,” said Sandra Landry, an Alberta-based licensed bankruptcy trustee at MNP, referring to the historic rise and fall of global energy prices.
“Even when people are busy, they often remember how quickly circumstances can change, so that’s where a lot of this feeling comes from.”
Financial vulnerability appears to be the main cause of people’s fears, with 32 per cent nationally and 40 per cent in Alberta saying it would be a struggle to find a new job with similar pay and benefits. There were also concerns about the ability to withstand a period of less or no income.
“If Canadians are not confident they can replace their income if their employment situation has changed, carrying debt can feel much more precarious,” said Bazian. “A job loss, reduction in hours or change in pay can quickly change what a household can afford, especially if there isn’t much room in the budget to accommodate the change.”
More than half of respondents said they would not be able to support themselves or their family for six months without borrowing or falling behind on bills if they lost their job.
But if anyone can breathe a little easier about their employment prospects, it should be Albertans.
The province gained 23,000 jobs in September, reversing two straight months of losses, while Canada’s economy lost 68,000 roles, Statistics Canada said on Oct. 9. The province’s unemployment rate fell to 6.4 percent from 6.8 percent in August and is now lower than the national unemployment rate of 6.5 percent.
However, Albertans also have some of the highest debt-to-income ratios, said Charles St-Arnaud, chief economist at Servus Credit Union in Edmonton, in a note earlier this month on consumer debt.
“This makes Albertans particularly vulnerable to job losses,” he said.
Their “purchasing power” has also eroded due to weaker wages and wage increases, which have grown one percent year-over-year, far less than the rest of the country, he said in a separate note.
Landry said Albertans were on alert last year.
“(Albertans) are just becoming less willing to take any of these career risks and are much more concerned about protecting existing income,” she said.
Apart from debt fears, about four in 10 Canadians said they were worried that artificial intelligence could harm their employment and income and that fear was highest in the Atlantic provinces at 47 percent.
About a quarter of professional respondents said trade and tariff wars also pose a threat, and that fear was highest in Saskatchewan and Manitoba at 32 percent.
Bazian said that artificial intelligence is registered as a higher concern because it is a permanent change, as opposed to rates.
“That’s where the (US) midterm elections come up. They know the president is not going to be there for another term. So, this is a temporary thing,” he said. “Most people feel that it’s going to settle down eventually, so they’re not as anxious. But AI, that’s kind of here to stay.”
• Email: gmvsuhanic@postmedia.com
