BC Construction Industry Statistics Highlights

November 24, 2022

The BC Construction Association has released their Fall 2022 Industry Stat Pack.  Construction continues to rank as BC’s number 1 employer contributing to over $15.6 Billion in wages in 2022.

Rising prices led to an increase of 10% in dollar value despite a decrease in demand, contributing 9.7% of provincial GDP. Construction has seen an 80% increase in the value of current projects compared to five years ago.

At the same time, the numbers indicate stark challenges for the industry. Investment in BC’s industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) construction sectors is down 10.9% since February 2020, while the non-residential building price index spiked 19.6%.

The labour pool continues to shrink. The number of tradespeople in the industry has dropped 5% over three years. The average company size has decreased 7% over the last three years to an average of 6.53 workers.

Finally, wages have increased 26% since 2017 and 11% since last year alone.  That 2022 jump includes a 2% increase due to the 5 days mandatory paid sick leave legislated this past January. 

Other Highlights include: 

•  over 236,000 people employed directly

•  171,470 credentialed tradespeople

•  85% of workers are non-union

•   26,262 construction companies, up from 23,569 in 2017

•   92% of companies have under 20 employees     

•   Average yearly wage $66,101, up from $58,500 in 2017

•  5,653 unfilled jobs due to labour shortages by 2027

More details at https://www.bccassn.com/stats-sources/

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