Average weekly earnings rank second in Canada

Saskatchewan workers saw their average weekly wages increase 1.3 per cent in July over the same period last year — tied with Manitoba for the third-highest year-over-year increase among the provinces, Statistics Canada said Friday. And average weekly earnings of $940 remained the second-highest in the country, next to Alberta at $1,098 and well above the Canadian average of $914.

Nine industries posted year-over-year increases in July, with the highest growth rates in services such as repair and maintenance at 14 per cent, construction at nine per cent, and administration and support up eight per cent.

“Those higher wages are not only helping to improve the quality of life of the people of Saskatchewan, but are also a major contributor to economic growth,” Economy Minister Bill Boyd said in a press release. “Record job numbers, low unemployment, growing population and higher wages are all supporting Saskatchewan’s economic success.”

But United Steelworkers economist and former NDP leadership candidate Erin Weir noted that between June and July, average weekly earnings fell by $9.39 or one per cent in Saskatchewan, by far the largest monthly drop of any province. “Over the past year, the province’s average weekly earnings were still up by 1.3 per cent, in line with the national average,” Weir said in a commentary. “However, Saskatchewan’s inflation rate has been above the national average. Provincial inflation of 1.6 per cent for July exceeded the average earnings gain, reducing the purchasing power of Saskatchewan workers.”

Across Canada, average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $914 in July, virtually unchanged from the previous month, but up 1.3 per cent in July on a year-over-year basis.

Year-over-year growth in average weekly earnings outpaced the national average in five of the largest industrial sectors, led by construction and the wholesale trade. Average weekly earnings in construction increased 4.9 per cent on a year-over-year basis to $1,192 in July, while weekly earnings in wholesale trade rose by 4.4 per cent to $1,084.

Meanwhile, average weekly earnings in educational services declined by 1.5 per cent to $1,000 in July. Year-over-year earnings of non-farm payroll employees grew in eight provinces, while earnings in Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia were little changed.