Job prospects Pharmacy Assistant in Alberta

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

Job opportunities in Alberta

These outlooks were updated on November 29, 2023.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be very good for Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants (NOC 33103) in Alberta for the 2023-2025 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.

Alberta’s population and its proportion of residents aged 65+ are predicted to increase over the next 20 years, contributing to demand for this occupation. Alberta’s Budget 2023 allocates $24.5 billion for health services in 2023-24, an increase of $965 million or 4.1% from 2022-23. Alberta plans to reform the management structure of Alberta Health Services this year which may have implications for job seekers.

Here are some key facts about Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants in Alberta:

• Approximately 5,250 people work in this occupation.
• Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Other retail stores (NAICS 44-45, except 445): 84%
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 11%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 64% compared to 80% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 36% compared to 20% for all occupations
• 63% of pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants work all year, while 37% 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.
• Less than 5% of pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 15% compared to 53% for all occupations
  • Women: 85% compared to 47% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 28% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 16% compared to 13% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 23% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 26% compared to 21% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: 7% compared to 9% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Alberta by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology