Annual wage growth in Metro Vancouver hit an “inspiring” 1.2% in 2014, according to a study from PayScale, Inc.
Jobs in law, real estate and information technology (IT) were the main driver behind growth.
Annual average wages went up 3.8% for those in the legal profession, while real estate jobs experienced a 3.3% boost.
The report, released January 14, noted IT jobs had a “relatively small” wage growth of 0.3% in the fourth quarter. But annually, those professions saw wages go up an average of 1.6% in 2014, above the regional average for all professions.
The only Canadian city to experience higher wage growth than Vancouver was Edmonton, which registered a 1.3% gain.
“Unlike most quarters since 2006, the oil and gas industry had the second lowest annual growth (0.9%), likely resulting from the recent drop in gas prices,” the PayScale report said.
“However, this industry has experienced impressive wage growth of 19.3% since 2006, the highest of any industry.”
Meanwhile, Toronto and Ottawa recorded the worst annual wage growth in Canada. Wages in the country’s biggest city went up just 0.3% in 2014. The nation’s capital actually saw wages decline 0.7%.
"The last quarter of 2014 was a mixed bag in terms of annual wage growth indicating ongoing volatility in our economy which is expected to continue into early 2015," PayScale lead economist Katie Bardaro said in a statement.
"Some measures such as retail, food services and legal jobs experienced significant positive wage growth, while others including the oil and gas sector and IT jobs fell in the last months of 2014."
@reporton
