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Declining oil prices are driving employment lower across all construction sectors in Alberta with a projected loss of 31,000 jobs over the next four years, BuildForce Canada warned Monday in the release of its 2016-2025 forecast.

It said oilsands job losses, an aging workforce, the departure of out-of-province workers and the ongoing demand for workers to sustain and maintain projects are all trends to worry about in the future.

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Rosemary Sparks, executive director of BuildForce Canada, said Alberta was on an upward trajectory for more than a decade, but has now hit a point where low oil prices and the impending completion of some major projects are causing a slowdown in employment requirements for new construction.

“We don’t see things starting to turn around until 2020,” she said.

Looking forward, a skills vacuum is a real risk with the exodus of thousands of interprovincial workers in the energy industry. That will combine with a loss of as many as 36,000 skilled workers who will retire in this decade.