The average weekly earnings in British Columbia increased by 2% in the 12 months to May, according to Statistics Canada data released July 31, while wages grew by 2.6% nationwide over the same period.
In addition to seeing slower wage growth, British Columbians continue to earn less than the Canadian average. In May, workers in B.C. earned, on average, $896. This is $41 less than the national average of $937.
This is also $255 less per week than the average worker in Alberta – the province with the highest weekly earnings in Canada – where the average weekly earnings were $1,151, with a year-over-year increase of 3.1%.
Newfoundland and Labrador had the second-highest weekly earnings at $994, followed by Saskatchewan with $964.
“The growing gap between wages in Newfoundland, Saskatchewan and Alberta and the rest of the country reflects how efforts to increase the supply of labour in these provinces have not been sufficient to stem the rising pressure on wages, a classic symptom of how the labour market signals shortages,” said the Fraser Institute in a study on labour shortages, also released July 31.
Nationally, the 2.6% increase was due to changes in the composition of employment by industry and wage growth. The biggest jump in wages was found in the sector that already had the highest weekly earnings. Workers in mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction saw an average wage increase of 15.5% year-over-year to May, to $2,094 per week.
B.C. wages saw no growth between April and May, while wages across Canada increased by 0.6% over the same period.
The figures do not include earnings from farming.
