Despite growth in the average weekly earnings for employees in this province, British Columbians still make about 21% less than their Albertan counterparts, Statistics Canada announced May 29.
Earnings grew by 4.4% in B.C. to $901 per week in March from $863 a year ago. In Alberta – the province with the highest incomes in Canada – workers earned $1,147 a week in March, which is an increase of 4.9% compared with March 2013.
Across the country, weekly earnings grew by 3.1% over the same period, to an average of $933 per week. Newfoundland and Labrador saw the biggest increase over the month, with growth of 4.7% to $993.
Month-to-month, earnings in B.C. increased by 1.5%, while Alberta saw growth of 1.8%. Again, Newfoundland and Labrador saw the biggest jump, with growth of 2.1%. Nationwide, earnings grew 0.7% compared with $904 in February.
The sectors with the highest pay in Canada were mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction ($2,051, which represents a jump of 13.1% compared with a year ago), utilities ($1,709) and management of companies and enterprises ($1,396).
Statistics Canada data also revealed employees throughout the country worked an average of 33 hours a week in March, up just a bit compared with the same period last year when the average was 32.9 hours a week.
