Job prospects Chemist in Alberta

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "chemist" in Alberta or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Alberta

The recent trends from the past 3 years were updated on July 25, 2025. The job outlooks over the next 3 years were updated on December 10, 2025.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be Moderate for chemists (NOC 21101) in Alberta for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
• A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

Here are some key facts about chemists in Alberta:

• Approximately 1,650 people worked in this occupation in May 2021.
• Chemists mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Architectural, engineering and design services (NAICS 5413): 21%
  • Chemical manufacturing (NAICS 325): 19%
  • Other professional, scientific and technical services (NAICS 5414, 5416-5419): 10%
  • Oil and gas extraction (NAICS 211): 8%
  • Federal government public administration (NAICS 911): 6%
• 77% of chemists work all year, while 23% work only part of the year, compared to 61% and 39% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 46 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• Less than 5% of chemists are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 60% compared to 53% for all occupations
  • Women: 40% compared to 47% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: n/a
  • high school diploma or equivalent: n/a
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: n/a
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: less than 5% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 44% compared to 21% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 52% compared to 9% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Alberta by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

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