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Payroll employment, earnings and hours
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In October, average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees increased 1.4% to $885.36 from the previous month. On a year-over-year basis, average weekly earnings rose 2.7%.
Year-to-year change in average weekly hours and average weekly earnings
Increases in average weekly earnings reflect a number of factors, such as wage growth and changes in the composition of employment by industry, by occupation and by level of job experience.
Average hours worked per week can also influence growth in year-over-year earnings. However, the average work week was unchanged from October 2010 at 33.0 hours.
Note to readers
The Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) is a business census of non-farm payroll employees. Its key objective is to provide a monthly portrait of the level of earnings, the number of jobs and hours worked by detailed industry at the national, provincial and territorial level.
Statistics Canada also produces employment estimates from its monthly Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS is a household survey whose main objective is to divide the working-age population into three mutually exclusive groups: the employed (including the self-employed), unemployed and not in the labour force. This survey is the official source for the unemployment rate and collects data on the socio-demographic characteristics of all those in the labour market.
As a result of conceptual and methodological differences, estimates of changes from SEPH and LFS do differ from time to time. However, the trends in the data are quite similar.
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which facilitates comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations.
Non-farm payroll employment data are for all hourly and salaried employees, as well as the "other employees" category, which includes piece-rate and commission-only employees.
Average weekly hours data are for hourly and salaried employees only and exclude businesses that could not be classified to a North American Industry Classification System code.
All earnings data include overtime pay and exclude businesses that could not be classified to a North American Industry Classification System code.
Average weekly earnings are derived by dividing total weekly earnings by the number of employees.
Average weekly earnings by sector
The monthly increase in average weekly earnings was highest in finance and insurance; education; real estate and rental leasing; utilities; mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction; and manufacturing.
Year-to-year change in average weekly earnings in the 10 largest sectors, October 2010 to October 2011
Year-over-year growth in average weekly earnings exceeded the national average of 2.7% in four of Canada's largest industrial sectors: administrative and support services; professional, scientific and technical services; health care and social assistance; and education.
In administration and support services, average weekly earnings rose 6.8% to $747.82. Year-over-year growth was widespread across the industries in this sector.
In the 12 months to October, average weekly earnings in professional, scientific and technical services were up 3.6% to $1,236.53. Increases were particularly pronounced in management, scientific and technical consulting, and in architectural, engineering and related services.
Average weekly earnings in health care and social assistance increased 3.4% to $819.15. Growth in this sector was most notable in hospitals.
Growth in earnings also surpassed the national average in some smaller sectors. From October 2010 to October 2011, earnings increased in the two highest paying industries. In utilities, earnings increased 9.3% to $1,691.32, while earnings for employees in mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction rose 4.7% to $1,800.70.
Average weekly earnings up in every province
Average weekly earnings rose in every province in the 12 months to October, led by growth in Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta. The lowest rate of growth was in Nova Scotia.
Year-over-year growth in average weekly earnings by province, October 2010 to October 2011
In Newfoundland and Labrador, average weekly earnings were $901.83 in October, up 7.7% from the same month a year earlier. Earnings in this province have grown at a higher rate than the national average since December 2010.
In Alberta, average weekly earnings increased 4.5% over the 12 months to $1,049.31 in October, and remained the highest level of earnings among the provinces.
The lowest year-over-year growth occurred in Nova Scotia (+0.4%), where the average weekly earnings were $770.25 in October.
Non-farm payroll employment by sector
From September to October, non-farm payroll employment declined by 24,500. On a year-over-year basis, the number of employees rose 228,900 (+1.5%).
The monthly decrease in payroll employment in October occurred in both goods and services, with the largest declines in public administration, manufacturing, and retail trade.
Declines within both public administration and manufacturing were widespread. In retail trade, most of the monthly job losses were in building material and garden equipment stores, gasoline stations and clothing stores.
Payroll employment in mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction was little changed in October. However, the sector posted the fastest year-over-year growth in payroll employment (+8.7% or +16,700) of all sectors. Growth in this sector was driven by gains in support activities for mining and oil and gas extraction, as well as metal ore mining.
The utilities sector also showed strong year-over-year job growth (+5.9% or +6,900). Most of the increase came from electric power generation, transmission and distribution.
Available on CANSIM: tables 281-0023 to 281-0039 and 281-0041 to 281-0049.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2612.
A data table is available from the Key resource module of our website under Summary tables.
Detailed industry data, data by size of enterprise based on employment, and other labour market indicators are now available in the monthly publication Employment, Earnings and Hours (72-002-X, free). From the Key resource module of our website, choose Publications.
Data on payroll employment, earnings and hours for November will be released on January 26, 2012.
For more information, contact Statistics Canada's National Contact Centre (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 613-951-8116; infostats@statcan.gc.ca), Communications Division.
To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Emmanuelle Bourbeau (613-951-3007), Labour Statistics Division.
Table 1
| Industry group (North American Industry Classification System) | October 2010 | September 2011r | October 2011p | September to October 2011 | October 2010 to October 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| current dollars | % change | ||||
| Sector aggregate | 862.28 | 872.85 | 885.36 | 1.4 | 2.7 |
| Forestry, logging and support | 990.98 | 1,007.32 | 1,009.48 | 0.2 | 1.9 |
| Mining and quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 1,720.63 | 1,757.29 | 1,800.70 | 2.5 | 4.7 |
| Utilities | 1,546.86 | 1,647.13 | 1,691.32 | 2.7 | 9.3 |
| Construction | 1,069.65 | 1,108.73 | 1,090.94 | -1.6 | 2.0 |
| Manufacturing | 975.56 | 970.04 | 994.25 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
| Wholesale trade | 1,035.25 | 1,060.25 | 1,061.33 | 0.1 | 2.5 |
| Retail trade | 506.09 | 505.77 | 511.80 | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 902.98 | 904.87 | 921.12 | 1.8 | 2.0 |
| Information and cultural industries | 1,067.15 | 1,060.81 | 1,068.85 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| Finance and insurance | 1,048.72 | 1,007.19 | 1,066.39 | 5.9 | 1.7 |
| Real estate and rental and leasing | 818.00 | 820.96 | 845.40 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 1,193.73 | 1,230.97 | 1,236.53 | 0.5 | 3.6 |
| Management of companies and enterprises | 1,151.13 | 1,162.68 | 1,182.25 | 1.7 | 2.7 |
| Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services | 699.96 | 740.58 | 747.82 | 1.0 | 6.8 |
| Educational services | 937.19 | 935.88 | 964.40 | 3.0 | 2.9 |
| Health care and social assistance | 792.57 | 822.15 | 819.15 | -0.4 | 3.4 |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 555.84 | 545.03 | 540.68 | -0.8 | -2.7 |
| Accommodation and food services | 350.45 | 355.92 | 352.37 | -1.0 | 0.5 |
| Other services (excluding public administration) | 695.04 | 708.87 | 710.91 | 0.3 | 2.3 |
| Public administration | 1,102.56 | 1,120.16 | 1,121.33 | 0.1 | 1.7 |
| Provinces and territories | |||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 837.04 | 886.38 | 901.83 | 1.7 | 7.7 |
| Prince Edward Island | 718.36 | 738.62 | 728.90 | -1.3 | 1.5 |
| Nova Scotia | 767.35 | 762.39 | 770.25 | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| New Brunswick | 764.25 | 791.31 | 797.03 | 0.7 | 4.3 |
| Quebec | 788.51 | 804.26 | 810.62 | 0.8 | 2.8 |
| Ontario | 889.68 | 887.05 | 904.61 | 2.0 | 1.7 |
| Manitoba | 796.09 | 808.09 | 812.24 | 0.5 | 2.0 |
| Saskatchewan | 869.96 | 904.45 | 896.53 | -0.9 | 3.1 |
| Alberta | 1,004.38 | 1,050.15 | 1,049.31 | -0.1 | 4.5 |
| British Columbia | 824.38 | 841.74 | 847.53 | 0.7 | 2.8 |
| Yukon | 920.07 | 946.94 | 966.46 | 2.1 | 5.0 |
| Northwest Territories¹ | 1,216.91 | 1,263.00 | 1,310.55 | 3.8 | 7.7 |
| Nunavut¹ | 911.80 | 907.98 | 953.13 | 5.0 | 4.5 |
Table 2
| Industry group (North American Industry Classification System) | December 2010 | October 2010 | September 2011r | October 2011p | September to October 2011 | October 2010 to October 2011 | December 2010 to October 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| thousands | % change | ||||||
| Sector aggregate | 14,842.2 | 14,782.3 | 15,035.7 | 15,011.3 | -0.2 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
| Forestry, logging and support | 39.8 | 39.2 | 39.7 | 39.8 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 0.0 |
| Mining and quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 197.3 | 191.3 | 206.9 | 207.9 | 0.5 | 8.7 | 5.4 |
| Utilities | 120.2 | 118.2 | 123.6 | 125.1 | 1.2 | 5.9 | 4.1 |
| Construction | 834.4 | 825.6 | 853.9 | 853.0 | -0.1 | 3.3 | 2.2 |
| Manufacturing | 1,469.3 | 1,463.8 | 1,488.3 | 1,480.4 | -0.5 | 1.1 | 0.8 |
| Wholesale trade | 735.1 | 732.6 | 747.8 | 745.0 | -0.4 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
| Retail trade | 1,864.1 | 1,850.6 | 1,846.6 | 1,842.6 | -0.2 | -0.4 | -1.2 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 675.6 | 667.1 | 683.4 | 682.8 | -0.1 | 2.4 | 1.1 |
| Information and cultural industries | 333.2 | 331.0 | 325.1 | 324.7 | -0.1 | -1.9 | -2.6 |
| Finance and insurance | 677.7 | 683.0 | 683.4 | 681.0 | -0.4 | -0.3 | 0.5 |
| Real estate and rental and leasing | 248.9 | 242.2 | 244.7 | 241.9 | -1.1 | -0.1 | -2.8 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 764.5 | 759.9 | 784.8 | 785.5 | 0.1 | 3.4 | 2.7 |
| Management of companies and enterprises | 105.8 | 105.0 | 102.2 | 102.6 | 0.4 | -2.3 | -3.0 |
| Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services | 734.2 | 737.0 | 744.3 | 746.0 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 1.6 |
| Educational services | 1,167.8 | 1,166.2 | 1,157.7 | 1,157.9 | 0.0 | -0.7 | -0.8 |
| Health care and social assistance | 1,634.5 | 1,627.3 | 1,663.3 | 1,661.4 | -0.1 | 2.1 | 1.6 |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 244.9 | 243.5 | 249.4 | 249.9 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
| Accommodation and food services | 1,066.8 | 1,066.6 | 1,091.2 | 1,094.9 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 2.6 |
| Other services (excluding public administration) | 510.9 | 509.7 | 519.3 | 518.9 | -0.1 | 1.8 | 1.6 |
| Public administration | 1,053.2 | 1,053.4 | 1,054.6 | 1,045.3 | -0.9 | -0.8 | -0.8 |
| Provinces and territories | |||||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 203.9 | 200.4 | 206.1 | 205.6 | -0.2 | 2.6 | 0.8 |
| Prince Edward Island | 64.6 | 64.5 | 64.9 | 64.6 | -0.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Nova Scotia | 411.5 | 406.6 | 403.3 | 401.7 | -0.4 | -1.2 | -2.4 |
| New Brunswick | 321.9 | 323.0 | 318.4 | 317.4 | -0.3 | -1.7 | -1.4 |
| Quebec | 3,406.7 | 3,393.6 | 3,438.3 | 3,434.9 | -0.1 | 1.2 | 0.8 |
| Ontario | 5,690.3 | 5,665.2 | 5,749.8 | 5,734.3 | -0.3 | 1.2 | 0.8 |
| Manitoba | 561.3 | 560.8 | 565.4 | 565.9 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.8 |
| Saskatchewan | 446.5 | 444.2 | 458.4 | 456.5 | -0.4 | 2.8 | 2.2 |
| Alberta | 1,770.0 | 1,760.6 | 1,836.6 | 1,837.4 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 3.8 |
| British Columbia | 1,906.1 | 1,904.4 | 1,934.7 | 1,934.1 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| Yukon | 20.1 | 19.9 | 20.6 | 20.3 | -1.5 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Northwest Territories¹ | 27.8 | 28.2 | 28.7 | 27.6 | -3.8 | -2.1 | -0.7 |
| Nunavut¹ | 11.4 | 11.8 | 11.8 | 11.6 | -1.7 | -1.7 | 1.8 |
