The Daily
|
 In the news  Indicators  Releases by subject
 Special interest  Release schedule  Information

Payroll employment, earnings and hours, June 2016

Warning View the most recent version.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.

Released: 2016-08-25

Average weekly earnings — Canada

$958.14

June 2016

0.5% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.L.

$1,027.07

June 2016

0.8% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — P.E.I.

$826.95

June 2016

1.9% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.S.

$845.16

June 2016

0.9% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.B.

$879.24

June 2016

3.0% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Que.

$884.69

June 2016

1.1% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Ont.

$980.68

June 2016

2.0% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Man.

$890.11

June 2016

0.7% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Sask.

$984.80

June 2016

0.7% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Alta.

$1,118.86

June 2016

-2.4% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — B.C.

$924.64

June 2016

1.7% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Y.T.

$1,041.95

June 2016

-0.3% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.W.T.

$1,408.13

June 2016

-0.4% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Nvt.

$1,288.90

June 2016

3.6% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $958 in June, up 0.4% from the previous month. Compared with 12 months earlier, average weekly earnings increased 0.5%.

Chart 1  Chart 1: Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings and average weekly hours
Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings and average weekly hours

The change in weekly earnings reflects a number of factors, including wage growth, changes in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and level of job experience, as well as average hours worked per week.

Non-farm payroll employees worked an average of 33.0 hours per week in June, up from 32.9 hours per week in May and unchanged from 12 months earlier.

Average weekly earnings by sector

In the 12 months to June, average weekly earnings increased in 3 of the 10 largest industrial sectors, led by administrative and support services. Over the same period, earnings declined in professional, scientific and technical services, educational services, and public administration.

Chart 2  Chart 2: Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings in the 10 largest sectors, June 2016
Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings in the 10 largest sectors, June 2016

Average weekly earnings in administrative and support services rose 3.0% to $808 in the 12 months to June. Earnings growth in the sector was widespread, with services to buildings and dwellings, and business support services being the largest contributors. On a year-over-year basis, earnings in this sector have increased since May 2015, led by Ontario.

Compared with June 2015, average weekly earnings in retail trade rose 2.7% to $564, with the largest growth in general merchandise stores. At the same time, earnings declined in non-store retailers such as direct selling establishments.

In accommodation and food services, earnings increased 2.2% to $381, as a result of gains in full-service restaurants and limited-service eating places.

Earnings in professional, scientific and technical services decreased 2.3% to $1,299, largely driven by earnings and employment losses in architectural, engineering and related services. Earnings in this sector have trended down since the fall of 2015, mostly in Alberta.

In the 12 months to June, average weekly earnings in educational services were down 2.3% to $1,013. The largest declines occurred in elementary and secondary schools.

Average weekly earnings in public administration fell 0.9% to $1,221 on a year-over-year basis in June. At the same time, employment increased in the federal public administration, coinciding with activities related to the 2016 Census.

Average weekly earnings by province

Year over year, average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees increased in five provinces in June, led by New Brunswick. At the same time, earnings in Alberta continued to decline. There was little earnings change in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Chart 3  Chart 3: Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings by province, June 2016
Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings by province, June 2016

Compared with June 2015, average weekly earnings in New Brunswick rose 3.0% to $879, driven by health care and social assistance, and administrative and support services. At the same time, earnings decreased in wholesale trade.

In the 12 months to June, earnings in Ontario rose 2.0% to $981, with increases in most industries. The real estate and rental and leasing, and arts, entertainment and recreation sectors recorded strong growth in earnings, employment and hours. Gains in finance and insurance, construction, and administrative and support services also drove earnings up in the province.

On a year-over-year basis, average weekly earnings in Prince Edward Island were up 1.9% to $827. Earnings rose in most sectors, notably in finance and insurance, and manufacturing. On the other hand, earnings declined in educational services.

In British Columbia, earnings rose 1.7% to $925 on a year-over-year basis in June. There were notable gains in information and cultural industries, and wholesale trade.

Compared with 12 months earlier, earnings in Quebec were up 1.1% to $885. Earnings gains in manufacturing, retail trade, and transportation and warehousing contributed the most to the year-over-year increase. Over the same period, earnings declined in health care and social assistance.

Earnings in Alberta were down 2.4% to $1,119 in the 12 months to June, with most sectors posting decreases. The overall decline over this period was mainly due to a combination of employment and earnings decreases in professional, scientific and technical services, construction and wholesale trade.

Non-farm payroll employment by sector

The number of non-farm payroll jobs increased by 52,700 (+0.3%) in June, following little change in May. The largest job gains occurred in public administration, retail trade, and health care and social assistance. At the same time, there were fewer payroll jobs in finance and insurance.

Compared with 12 months earlier, the number of non-farm payroll employees rose by 190,000 or 1.2%. Payroll jobs increased the most in health care and social assistance (+64,700 or +3.6%); public administration (+37,300 or +3.6%); accommodation and food services (+32,800 or +2.7%); educational services (+20,900 or +1.7%); and retail trade (+19,300 or +1.0%).

Over the same period, there were fewer payroll jobs in manufacturing (-23,200 or -1.5%); mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (-20,200 or -9.6%); construction (-12,800 or -1.3%); "other services" (-10,100 or -1.9%); and wholesale trade (-8,400 or -1.1%).



  Note to readers

The Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) is produced by a combination of a census of approximately one million payroll deductions provided by the Canada Revenue Agency, and the Business Payrolls Survey, which collects data from a sample of 15,000 establishments. The key objective of the SEPH is to provide a monthly portrait of the level of earnings and the number of jobs and hours worked by detailed industry at the national, provincial and territorial levels.

Estimates of average weekly earnings and hours worked are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level. Payroll employment estimates are based on a census of administrative data and are not subject to sampling variability.

Statistics Canada also produces employment estimates from its Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS is a monthly household survey, the main objective of which is to divide the working-age population into three mutually exclusive groups: the employed (including the self-employed), the unemployed and those 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. To better understand the conceptual differences between employment measures from the LFS and SEPH, refer to section 8 of the Guide to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (Catalogue number72-203-G).

Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which facilitate comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.

Non-farm payroll employment data are for all hourly and salaried employees, as well as for 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 (NAICS) code.

All earnings data include overtime pay and exclude businesses that could not be classified to a NAICS code. Earnings data are based on gross taxable payroll before source deductions. Average weekly earnings are derived by dividing total weekly earnings by the number of employees.

With each release, data for the current reference month are subject to revision. Data have been revised for the previous month. Users are encouraged to request and use the most up-to-date data for each month.

Real-time CANSIM tables

Real-time CANSIM tables 281-8023, 281-8026, 281-8047 and 281-8063 will be updated on September 9. For more information, consult the document Real-time CANSIM tables.

Next release

Data on payroll employment, earnings and hours for July will be released on September 29.

Products

A summary table is available from the Browse by key resource module of our website. Under Summary tables, choose Subject then Labour.

Job Vacancy Statistics (survey number 5202) from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours for May are now available in CANSIM.

More information about the concepts and use of the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours is available online in the Guide to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (Catalogue number72-203-G), from the Browse by key resource module of our website, under Publications.

Information about Job Vacancy Statistics concepts are now available online in the Guide to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (Catalogue number72-203-G). The separate Guide to Job Vacancy Statistics (Catalogue number72-210-G) has been discontinued.

Contact information

For more information, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca).

To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Jeremy Weeks (613-951-1369; jeremy.weeks@canada.ca), Labour Statistics Division.

Report a problem on this page

Is something not working? Is there information outdated? Can't find what you're looking for?

Please contact us and let us know how we can help you.

Privacy notice

Date modified: