Job hunt gets tough in Calgary

Before the doors even opened to the job fair at Calgary's Telus Convention Centre on Thursday, already a few hundred people were lined up with resumes in hand.

Some were dressed up in full three-piece suits, others taking a casual approach as they met representatives from a few dozen companies looking to hire.

Job seeker Doug McFee was on his way back out 15 minutes after the doors opened.

"I didn't see anything that would fit my skill set," said McFee, who was laid off from a transportation job about a year ago. "Hopefully it will change with the price of oil, but that's something that I can't wait around for."

This job fair does not feature any oil and gas companies, but instead has employers from fast food restaurants, meat factories, trucking companies, school bus firms and seniors homes, among others.

"I went to different job fairs and the companies that went there are not hiring; in fact they are laying off people," says Yu Huo, about visiting a similar job fair in Fort McMurray.

​

The job market in Calgary is tight as the collapse in oil prices has resulted in thousands of layoffs in the city. The energy slowdown is also impacting other industries such as manufacturing that rely on the oil sector for work.

• Oil-price scenarios: Good, bad and ugly
• Energy industry layoffs in Calgary a boon for HR companies
• Alberta faces structural deficit even if oil rebounds, TD says

This week alone about 400 jobs were cut in Calgary by Talisman Energy and Nexen Energy. 

Just about every major oil company in Alberta has slashed jobs in recent months, including Cenovus, Suncor and Shell. The provincial government has signalled public sector layoffs could be on the way too.

• How bad will Alberta's job market get? Depends who you ask
• Job cuts in oil patch slowing business in downtown Calgary

In the last week, Statistics Canada reported 14,000 jobs were lost in Alberta in February. But the figures also shed a light on where jobs can still be found in the province. For example, more than four per cent of jobs in the food and accommodation sector are vacant. Other sectors such as retail, construction and transportation also have vacancies.

The search is still proving difficult for many people, including Joe Patton, who has yet to find employment after graduating from university with a bachelor of arts two months ago.

"Everybody and their dog has a degree now," he said. "You kind of have to have something special about yourself and have some experience to get out there."