Employment Outlook

The employment outlook will be very good for Plumbers (72300) in Prince Edward Island for the 2022-2024 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

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

The prospect for employment in this occupation is good as there continues to be a shortage of workers and unfilled vacancies in the province due to strong gains in both residential and non-residential investment. The demand for workers in this occupation is expected to remain favourable driven by continued housing development to support population growth, as well as maintenance, renovation, and repair work. . In response to the province’s low vacancy rate and housing shortage, the P.E.I. government announced plans to rebate the provincial portion of the HST on new rental builds. This follows the federal announcement to remove GST charges as well and its portion of the HST on new rental builds to induce new developments. Opportunities are expected to arise as there will be a need to replace workers who retire.

Employment opportunities may be better for those who are willing to travel to various locations for work or who possess credentials in other trades such as a gas fitter’s licence. A number of self-employed contractors have service contracts for maintenance work, which may provide for additional year-round job opportunities for plumbers. As self-employment is an option for plumbers in P.E.I., those interested in establishing their own business may wish to explore investment opportunities in this occupation. Plumbers may be required to work weekends and evenings especially for emergency repairs. There is some seasonality associated with this occupation suggesting better job prospects in the warmer months of the year.

Here are some key facts about Plumbers in Prince Edward Island:

• Approximately 200 people work in this occupation.
• Plumbers mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Construction (NAICS 23): 94%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 92% compared to 84% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 8% compared to 16% for all occupations
• 69% of plumbers work all year, while 31% work only part of the year, compared to 59% and 41% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 43 weeks compared to 41 weeks for all occupations.
• 26% of plumbers are self-employed compared to an average of 13% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: more than 95% compared to 51% for all occupations
  • Women: less than 5% compared to 49% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 11% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 8% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 62% compared to 11% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor’s: 23% compared to 25% for all occupations
  • bachelor’s degree: n/a
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: n/a

Source: Job Bank

Prevailing Wages