Work in Canada
Average Hourly Wages Rises for Both Salaried and Hourly Workers in Canada: Statistics Canada
In Canada, the average hourly wage has shown a tremendous rise for workers. The most recent information from Statistics Canada indicates that in February 2023, the average hourly salary for working employees in Canada has increased. In addition, the average monthly wages for employees paid on a salary and hourly basis rose from $42.37 to $42.58 and $29.25 to $29.44, respectively, between January and February 2023. The analysis has indicated other significant results pertaining to wage rise in Canada.
The blog will explore the factors that affect wages, and recent trends among hourly and salaried workers by the province and industry category.
Wage Growth by Province
Different provinces in Canada experienced different changes in wage growth and decline during the period from December 2022 – February 2023. Here’s the Statistics Canada’s data that represents average hourly wage for both salaried and hourly paid employees’ by province/territory.
Province December 2022 January 2023 February 2023 Alberta $45.12 $44.67 $45.29 British Columbia $42.24 $42.78 $42.92 Manitoba $38.55 $39.04 $38.73 New Brunswick $39.70 $39.49 $40.23 Newfoundland and Labrador $41.10 $40.95 $40.39 Northwest Territories $52.04 $51.59 $52.61 Nova Scotia $38.03 $37.37 $37.18 Nunavut $55.06 $56.79 $53.52 Ontario $43.20 $43.17 $43.44 Prince Edward Island $35.48 $34.48 $35.30 Quebec $41.04 $40.68 $40.82 Saskatchewan $41.32 $41.19 $41.16 Yukon $47.45 $47.89 $47.31
Data showing changes in average hourly wage for hourly paid employees from the period December 2022 – February 2023
| Province | December 2022 | January 2023 | February 2023 |
| Alberta | $31.17 | $30.57 | $31.00 |
| British Columbia | $30.40 | $29.94 | $30.34 |
| Manitoba | $28.46 | $28.02 | $27.98 |
| New Brunswick | $27.14 | $27.16 | $26.85 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $28.83 | $28.77 | $28.45 |
| Northwest Territories | $42.96 | $41.37 | $41.93 |
| Nova Scotia | $26.45 | $26.05 | $25.99 |
| Nunavut | $39.49 | $38.59 | $38.68 |
| Ontario | $28.68 | $28.71 | $28.84 |
| Prince Edward Island | $24.77 | $24.51 | $24.89 |
| Quebec | $29.85 | $29.76 | $29.81 |
| Saskatchewan | $28.88 | $28.70 | $29.28 |
| Yukon | $33.19 | $32.09 | $32.82 |
Wage Trends by Industry
The report also mentioned a breakdown of average hourly wages for both salaried and hourly employees by the industry type.
The three industries in each province/territory where salaried workers have had the maximum average hourly salary increases as well as had the most noticeably declined between January and February 2023.
For example; take Alberta that shown highest increase and decrease in hourly wages in the following industries:
Alberta’s Hourly Wage Increase
- Transportation and Warehousing – $40.23 to $43.89; (+$3.66)
- Manufacturing – $45.52 to $49.13; (+$3.61)
- Forestry, Logging and Support – $38.60 to $42.17; (+$3.57)
Alberta’s Hourly Wage Decreases
- Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services – $40.41 to $36.23; (-$4.18)
- Insurance & Finance – $44.50 to $42.28; (-$2.22)
- Real Estate, Rental and Leasing – $45.50 to $43.46; (-$2.04)
Let’s take another region to understand that what hourly wages increase and decrease have employees shown in the industries:
Manitoba’s Hourly Wage Increase
- Manufacturing increased from $29.21 to $30.08 shown a (+$0.87);
- Construction shown a rise of (+$0.78); increased from $33.35 to $34.13
- Professional, Scientific and Technical Services increased from $33.25 to $33.85 with a (+$0.60) hike.
Manitoba’s Hourly Wage Decreases
- Information and Cultural Industries decreased from $40.93 to $33.36 shown (-$7.57);
- Transportation and Warehousing fell by -$0.86; decreased from $30.73 to $29.87;
- Educational Services came down from $22.11 to $21.62
