The Research
Overview
Questions probed current staffing needs, incidence of staff shortages and the impact of shortages, and challenges hiring.
In addition, respondents agreeing to answer further questions were asked about areas for improvement among current employees, willingness to hire people in various situations, and how accessible their workplace is to public transit and if this is a barrier to hiring.
Methodology
Between January 14th and February 2nd, 2025, an online research was completed by businesses within Alberta. In all, 268 businesses completed the research which was administered on the Alberta Perspectives platform by the Alberta Chambers of Commerce to members and other affiliated businesses. In addition, 169 of the initial respondents answered a number of follow up questions appended to the end of the survey. These are found at the end of the report.
How we’ll use our findings
- Broaden and deepen the evidence the ACC and local chambers can bring forward to articulate the perspectives of the province’s business community
- Understand the reality faced by our business community
- Make the research available to individual chambers
Key Findings
- Only a third anticipate that their workforce would increase in the next six or twelve months.
- Less than half of employers continue to report they are experiencing a moderate (30%) or significant (17%) staffing shortage.
- Four-in-ten (41%) of businesses report that hiring the skills their business needs is ‘more difficult’ compared to a year ago.
- Two-thirds (67%) now indicate it is having a ‘moderate’ or ‘significant’ impact on production or sales opportunities.
- Four-in-ten (44%) report it impacts their ability to fulfill core functions of their organization – up from 33% a year ago.
- Finding staff with the people skills they need (57%) is the biggest challenge in hiring.
- Only half of those hiring recent graduates from an Alberta post-secondary institution say they are workforce ready.
- This highlights the importance and need for work integrated learning programs.