Calgary slides down list of hot job markets to #19, survey says

If you needed any more proof that the job market in Calgary has cooled off, a survey by a U.S.-based hiring firm has dropped the city from 10th to 19th place among the hottest job markets in the country.

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According to the second annual Top 50 Hot Job Markets In Canada compiled by Express Employment Professionals, the over-heated western Canadian job markets have cooled while Eastern Canada has held steady.

"In 2014, seven out of the 10 hot job markets in Canada were out west. In 2015, there is an even 50/50 split of hot job markets between the East and West," the firm said in a release.

Cratering oil prices have seen Fort McMurray slide from being the best place in the country to find a job in last year's survey to number six this year.

The hottest job market in the country is Saint-Hyacinthe in the Monteregie region of Quebec, southeast of Montreal, the survey found.

"The area has a diverse economic base, including a strong dairy community, Quebec's largest agricultural fair, a community college, and a biotech forestry plant. A new bio-methane plant just opened in the area in June," the Express Employment Professional said.

To come up with its rankings of jobs available per 1,000 people, the firm cross-referenced Statistics Canada population data with publicly advertised job postings on the federal job bank.

Among large cities, four made the top 20:

• Edmonton ranked 8th.
• Mississauga ranked 10th.
• Vancouver ranked 15th.
• Calgary ranked 19th.

There are still jobs to be had in Calgary, they're just less likely to be in the oil and gas industry.

With the busy season around the corner, the Ski Cellar on 17th Avenue southwestis looking for about 100 more workers, says general manager Jean Hunt.

"We need them soon because by October we have to have them trained and ready to go," she said.

But Byron Kelly, who lost his job at Nexen about a month ago, says he's still focused on finding work to match his expertise.

"It doesn't have to be so much a career change so much as just a different aspect to my career for a short period of time," he said.