Census Division 18 and 19 Data
Work Northwest: Population and Job Growth
The Census Divisions 18 and 19 are expected to see steady population growth between 2024 and 2031, behind the projected provincial growth rate. Job growth is projected to outpace total population growth indicating a higher percentage of job seekers are relocating to our region for work. Our region’s wages are in line with the Provincial and Federal average.
Population, Jobs, and Wage Comparison by Region
Region | Population (2024) | Population (2025) | Population (2031) | Population Change % | Jobs (2024) | Jobs (2031) | Jobs Change % | Current Average Wages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | 4,783,169 | 4,871,653 | 5,416,177 | 11.18% | 2,177,749 | 2,321,959 | 5.51% | $66,418 |
| Canada | 40,504,265 | 40,908,584 | 43,266,128 | 5.76% | 18,564,895 | 19,962,908 | 6.23% | $62,430 |
| Census Divisions 17, 18, and 19 | 205,758 | 206,180 | 207,004 | 0.4% | 94,408 | 100,812 | 5.55% | $61,597 |
In terms of total job growth, the highest number of new jobs are driven by Health care and social assistance, Accommodation and Food Services, and Transportation and warehousing but the growth in Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction and Manufacturing are the largest projected drivers of economic impact and wage growth in the region because these jobs act as economic multipliers supporting the other sectors.
Employment Projections by Industry
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NAICS | Description | 2031 Jobs | 2025 - 2031 Change | 2025 - 2031 % Change | Avg. Wages Per Job |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting | 1,693 | -42 | -2.43% | $61,378 |
| 21 | Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 7,001 | 431 | 6.56% | $99,363 |
| 22 | Utilities | 526 | 35 | 7.22% | $95,160 |
| 23 | Construction | 6,001 | 70 | 1.19% | $81,892 |
| 31-33 | Manufacturing | 3,131 | 165 | 5.58% | $81,620 |
| 41 | Wholesale trade | 3,662 | 47 | 1.3% | $73,835 |
| 44-45 | Retail trade | 9,193 | 101 | 1.11% | $38,358 |
| 48-49 | Transportation and warehousing | 5,483 | 635 | 13.09% | $76,183 |
| 51 | Information and cultural industries | 362 | -19 | -4.98% | $47,655 |
| 52 | Finance and insurance | 1,406 | 74 | 5.54% | $66,607 |
| 53 | Real estate and rental and leasing | 1,634 | 39 | 2.45% | $74,298 |
| 54 | Professional, scientific and technical services | 2,585 | 92 | 3.7% | $70,321 |
| 55 | Management of companies and enterprises | 216 | 6 | 2.8% | $80,776 |
| 56 | Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services | 3,689 | 528 | 16.7% | $52,909 |
| 61 | Educational services | 4,675 | 184 | 4.09% | $61,011 |
| 62 | Health care and social assistance | 5,894 | 522 | 9.72% | $51,780 |
| 71 | Arts, entertainment and recreation | 947 | 99 | 11.7% | $27,945 |
| 72 | Accommodation and food services | 8,134 | 539 | 7.1% | $30,668 |
| 81 | Other services (except public administration) | 3,858 | 263 | 7.3% | $56,235 |
| 91 | Public administration | 4,272 | 217 | 5.35% | $76,124 |
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Employment Projections by Occupation
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NOC | Description | 2025 Jobs | 2031 Jobs | 2025 - 2031 % Change | 2023 Median Wages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Legislative and senior managers | 56 | 53 | -5.58% | $135,151 |
| 10 | Specialized middle management occupations in administrative services, financial and business services and communication (except broadcasting) | 357 | 337 | -5.82% | $105,456 |
| 11 | Professional occupations in finance and business | 936 | 951 | 1.59% | $74,014 |
| 12 | Administrative and financial supervisors and specialized administrative occupations | 1,959 | 2,094 | 6.88% | $59,943 |
| 13 | Administrative occupations and transportation logistics occupations | 2,374 | 2,444 | 2.93% | $55,407 |
| 14 | Administrative and financial support and supply chain logistics occupations | 3,688 | 3,795 | 2.92% | $55,171 |
| 20 | Specialized middle management occupations in engineering, architecture, science and information systems | 110 | 113 | 2.83% | $147,469 |
| 21 | Professional occupations in natural and applied sciences | 1,569 | 1,690 | 7.73% | $100,536 |
| 22 | Technical occupations related to natural and applied sciences | 2,346 | 2,441 | 4.05% | $91,007 |
| 30 | Specialized middle management occupations in health care | 71 | 74 | 4.96% | $101,363 |
| 31 | Professional occupations in health | 1,098 | 1,200 | 9.29% | $94,208 |
| 32 | Technical occupations in health | 1,214 | 1,376 | 13.39% | $73,586 |
| 33 | Assisting occupations in support of health services | 1,484 | 1,727 | 16.39% | $48,642 |
| 40 | Managers in public administration, in education and social and community services and in public protection services | 520 | 583 | 12.24% | $97,301 |
| 41 | Professional occupations in law, education, social, community and government services | 3,463 | 3,818 | 10.24% | $82,421 |
| 42 | Front-line public protection services and paraprofessional occupations in legal, social, community, education services | 1,707 | 1,806 | 5.82% | $68,283 |
| 43 | Assisting occupations in education and in legal and public protection | 766 | 784 | 2.44% | $48,967 |
| 44 | Care providers and legal and public protection support occupations | 242 | 219 | -9.48% | $38,601 |
| 45 | Student monitors, crossing guards and related occupations | 76 | 76 | 0.11% | $42,003 |
| 50 | Specialized middle management occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport | 26 | 25 | -4.14% | $77,463 |
| 51 | Professional occupations in art and culture | 121 | 132 | 9.28% | $67,914 |
| 52 | Technical occupations in art, culture and sport | 182 | 175 | -3.6% | $56,017 |
| 53 | Occupations in art, culture and sport | 72 | 67 | -5.95% | $43,233 |
| 54 | Support occupations in sport | 231 | 257 | 11.17% | $39,765 |
| 55 | Support occupations in art and culture | 1 | 0 | -40.2% | $50,047 |
| 60 | Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services | 1,039 | 1,031 | -0.71% | $74,353 |
| 62 | Retail sales and service supervisors and specialized occupations in sales and services | 3,142 | 3,385 | 7.74% | $47,866 |
| 63 | Occupations in sales and services | 1,856 | 1,929 | 3.95% | $45,583 |
| 64 | Sales and service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations | 4,311 | 4,401 | 2.09% | $42,678 |
| 65 | Sales and service support occupations | 6,265 | 6,511 | 3.93% | $36,438 |
| 70 | Middle management occupations in trades and transportation | 538 | 564 | 4.83% | $99,520 |
| 72 | Technical trades and transportation officers and controllers | 9,658 | 10,141 | 5% | $82,020 |
| 73 | General trades | 6,007 | 6,603 | 9.92% | $67,378 |
| 74 | Mail and message distribution, other transport equipment operators and related maintenance workers | 740 | 758 | 2.56% | $55,597 |
| 75 | Helpers and labourers and other transport drivers, operators and labourers | 2,093 | 2,153 | 2.9% | $49,496 |
| 80 | Middle management occupations in production and agriculture | 345 | 357 | 3.59% | $136,310 |
| 82 | Supervisors in natural resources, agriculture and related production | 1,664 | 1,792 | 7.67% | $100,242 |
| 83 | Occupations in natural resources and related production | 2,375 | 2,575 | 8.43% | $71,417 |
| 84 | Workers in natural resources, agriculture and related production | 729 | 676 | -7.2% | $62,315 |
| 85 | Harvesting, landscaping and natural resources labourers | 1,211 | 1,216 | 0.38% | $46,067 |
| 90 | Middle management occupations in manufacturing and utilities | 228 | 242 | 5.88% | $125,568 |
| 92 | Processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and utilities operators and controllers | 1,249 | 1,374 | 9.97% | $107,931 |
| 93 | Central control and process operators and aircraft assembly assemblers and inspectors | 735 | 735 | -0.01% | $113,546 |
| 94 | Machine operators, assemblers and inspectors in processing, manufacturing and printing | 968 | 1,012 | 4.63% | $73,519 |
| 95 | Labourers in processing, manufacturing and utilities | 559 | 669 | 19.81% | $53,589 |