Job prospects Carpenter in British Columbia

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "carpenter" in British Columbia or across Canada.

Job opportunities in British Columbia

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 Limited for carpenters (NOC 72310) in British Columbia 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 several unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

British Columbia has faced slower demand and delays in new construction starts as shortages of skilled workers and rising wages continue to drive up construction costs. 

In residential construction, slower housing starts will impact growth in construction jobs. 

Renovation investment is expected to steadily increase to maintain older housing and allow homeowners to age in place.

Here are some key facts about carpenters in British Columbia:

• Approximately 20,600 people work in this occupation.
• Carpenters mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Construction (NAICS 23): 86%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 90% compared to 78% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 10% compared to 22% for all occupations
• 53% of carpenters work all year, while 47% 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 42 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 33% of carpenters are self-employed compared to an average of 17% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: more than 95% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: less than 5% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 12% compared to 8% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 33% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 36% compared to 13% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 12% compared to 17% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 5% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 12% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in British Columbia by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

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