Surrey Labour Market Report Shows Decrease in Employment for Agriculture and Natural Resource Sectors

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The April 2023 Surrey Labour Market Intelligence Report by the Surrey Board of Trade has pointed that employment in Surrey’s natural resources and agricultural sector since 2022 has decreased almost by 29% with a loss of 1,200 jobs.

This summary report compares employment changes in Surrey from during the COVID-19 pandemic (January 2021) and through to March 2023 to show the local employment impacts of the pandemic and other factors. The report was prepared by Human Capital Strategies in conjunction with the Surrey Board of Trade.

“Tracking labour market trends in an ongoing way is important to ensure our policy framework is focused on developing a suitably skilled workforce, a broad availability of good-quality education as a foundation for future training, and a close matching of skills supply to the needs of enterprises and labour markets. It enables workers and enterprises to adjust to changes in technology and markets, and to anticipate and prepare for the skills needs of the future,” said Anita Huberman, President & CEO, Surrey Board of Trade. “This will fuel innovation, investment, economic diversification and competitiveness, as well as social and occupational mobility.”

According to the report, over the last 12 months, Surrey employment grew by an estimated nearly 4,400 jobs or 1.4% since March 2022. While still significant, this growth was much smaller than the growth in the previous 12 months (March 2021-March 2022) which was almost 11,500 jobs or 3.6% as part of the COVID recovery since 2020.

Over the last 12 months, Surrey employment grew by an estimated nearly 4,400 jobs or 1.4% since March 2022.

The sectors with the most negative employment change in Surrey over the last 12 months are estimated to be manufacturing (-14.3% or -4,200 jobs), health care and social assistance (-4.6% or -1,900 jobs) and transportation and warehousing (-5.3% or almost -1,700 jobs). 

Surrey’s construction sector increased by over 5,800 jobs or a significant 22.2% since March 2022. With more children and youth back at school, the Surrey education sector grew by almost 10.0% or almost 1,800 jobs since March 2022. Other services (personal services, high touch positions) employment continues to recover with it growing by almost 14.0% or 1,600 jobs over this period.

Driven by major growth in Surrey’s service-producing sectors, management jobs grew by almost 39% or
almost 6,000 over the last 12 months; sales and service jobs grew by almost 4.0% or almost 2,900 positions in Surrey. Art, culture, recreation and sport employment surged by 35.1% over the last 12 months, creating over 2,200 jobs.

The biggest percentage decrease in employment in Surrey since March 2022 has been in natural resources and agriculture, falling almost -29.0% or by almost -1,200 jobs.

Factors such as interest rates, housing costs and availability, talents shortages, supply chain issues, government regulation and other trends continue to combine to prevent a more robust recovery since the worst of the pandemic.