Establishments with employees

In 2010, the Slave Lake Region had 1,234 establishments with employees, making up 0.8% of all establishments with employees in Alberta.  Of these establishments, 1,183 or 95.9% were small companies with between 1 and 49 employees. Micro-businesses with fewer than five employees have a 58.8% share of the region’s total number of companies and large companies with 50 or more employees have a 4.1% share, compared to the 4.4% Alberta average.

Number of Establishments by Employee Size in 2010: Slave Lake Region and Alberta

Between 2005 and 2010, there was an increase of 1.1% (or 13 companies) in the total number of businesses in the Slave Lake Region and a 1.0% rise (or 12 companies) in the number of small businesses.  By comparison, at the provincial level, the total number of businesses increased by 2.3% and small companies experienced an increase of 3.4% over the same period.

In the Slave Lake Region, 67% of companies with employees were involved in service industries in 2010.  The total number of companies in service industries rose by 0.7% over the past five years, while the goods industry had a 1.7% increase over the same period. 

Construction is the largest industry in the region, making up 14.3% of establishments with employees in the Slave Lake Region.  By comparison, 13.8% of establishments with employees are engaged in the Construction industry at the provincial level.  Other large industries are Retail Trade, Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction, and Other Services (mainly repair and maintenance).

Over the past five years, the Wholesale Trade industry experienced the highest growth in the number of businesses, up 32.5% between 2005 and 2010.  The Mining and Oil and Gas Extraction industry, and Education also had large increases of close to 30% in the number of establishments over the same period.  Agriculture and Forestry registered the largest decline: down 25.3% between 2005 and 2010.  Unlike in other regions, the Forestry sector accounts for a large share (43%) of the number of businesses in the Agriculture and Forestry industry.

Date Updated:
RDP-2341