Seems like a good thing, doesn't it?
Posted by admin, Fri Sep 15 05:12:46 UTC 2006
CBC News: Alberta’s growth ‘strongest ever’: StatsCan
Alberta is in the midst of the strongest period of economic growth ever recorded by any province in the country’s history, Statistics Canada said Thursday.But from the point of view of living in the middle of this boom, I can tell you that it has it’s down side as well.
Labour crunch will get worse
A chronic labour shortage that could see a shortfall of some 30,000 workers over the next decade is putting constraints on economic growth in Calgary and frustrating employers in need of critical human resources, says a comprehensive report obtained by the Herald.
Yes, that’s the answer. We need more warm bodies to fill all those jobs. But…
Calgary homeless shelters can’t meet demand
Homeless people in Calgary are sleeping outdoors because of a bed shortage, say two area shelters. The shelters attribute the problem to people who move to the city for work, but can’t find affordable housing.
So, don’t bother coming to Calgary to work, unless you have housing lined up before you get here. Because there isn’t any housing to spare. The vacancy rates are at record lows. And students are getting the short end of the stick as well.
CBC News: Calgary students face waiting list for campus housing
The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the city’s vacancy rate likely hovers at about 0.6 per cent, with the average two-bedroom apartment renting for $1,010 a month.
As for people who think they can come here and start a new business to take advantage of all this growth, well…
CBC News: Calgary’s downtown office space tighter than Tokyo
CB Richard Ellis Limited reports the vacancy rate for “Class A” downtown space is just 0.2 per cent. That’s lower than Tokyo, which traditionally has the lowest vacancy rate of any major city in the world, according to the report.
Yup. All this growth is great. Just great.