A serious labour crisis looms in Metro Vancouver as increases in the cost of housing are far outpacing wage growth, according to a Vancity report released May 21.
By 2025, many Millennials – even those working in the most in-demand occupations – will be forced to move to more affordable cities as their salaries will not be enough to support housing costs.
"More and more, people are wanting to live in the communities where they work; if these communities are not affordable, workers will look elsewhere,” said Andy Broderick, Vancity vice-president of community investment. “It is important to our local economy that people in the labour force have access to stable and affordable housing.”
The study assumes the average increase in the cost of housing to be about 4.87% per year over the next 10 years, but the average salary to only increase by 0.6-3.2% annually.
The result will be that that 85 of the 88 most in-demand jobs will pay too little to support housing costs.
Vancity forecasts that by 2025, the household income required to support the average mortgage will be $125,692. This means that among those who will not be able to afford to live here will include civil engineers, construction managers, police officers, firefighters and general practitioners.
The report recommends a number of steps that could help reduce the looming crisis. These include implementing rental housing tax incentives and building inclusionary zoning into municipal bylaws. In addition, employers could consider developing workforce housing and paying a living wage.
“Vancity is advocating for sustainable wages as well as working to support growth in the affordable housing sector,” Broderick said.
According to the study, housing costs increased 63% between 2001 and 2014. During the same period, salaries only increased 36.2%.
