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

Payroll employment, earnings and hours, July 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: 2016-09-29

Average weekly earnings — Canada

$954.61

July 2016

0.1% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.L.

$1,006.04

July 2016

-0.6% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — P.E.I.

$828.69

July 2016

4.1% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.S.

$855.03

July 2016

2.2% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.B.

$873.47

July 2016

2.0% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Que.

$875.18

July 2016

-1.0% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Ont.

$974.93

July 2016

0.6% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Man.

$888.13

July 2016

0.0% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Sask.

$974.44

July 2016

0.6% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Alta.

$1,119.24

July 2016

-1.6% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — B.C.

$915.49

July 2016

0.2% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Y.T.

$1,060.94

July 2016

2.0% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.W.T.

$1,387.35

July 2016

-3.0% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Nvt.

$1,269.98

July 2016

0.5% 

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $955 in July, little changed from the previous month (-0.2%) and from 12 months earlier (+0.1%).

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 32.7 hours per week in July, down from 33.0 hours in June and from 33.1 hours in July 2015.

Average weekly earnings by sector

In the 12 months to July, average weekly earnings increased in 2 of the 10 largest industrial sectors, specifically educational services and construction. Over the same period, earnings declined in accommodation and food services; wholesale trade; and professional, scientific, and technical services. Earnings were little changed in the other sectors.

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

Compared with 12 months earlier, average weekly earnings in educational services increased 3.3% to $1,027, partly as a result of relatively low earnings in July 2015. Elementary and secondary schools—the largest industry within the sector—contributed the most to the earnings growth.

Compared with July 2015, average weekly earnings in construction rose 1.9% to $1,238. The increase was led by earnings growth among specialty trade contractors. Employment also increased in this subsector.

On the other hand, average weekly earnings were down 3.6% to $370 in accommodation and food services. The year-over-year loss was mainly driven by decreases in average earnings in full-service restaurants and limited-service eating places. At the same time, the sector posted a decline in average weekly hours worked.

Average earnings in wholesale trade decreased 3.0% to $1,155, with declines spread across most subsectors. Miscellaneous wholesalers and wholesalers of petroleum and petroleum products recorded the largest year-over-year earnings loss.

In the 12 months to July, average weekly earnings in professional, scientific, and technical services were down 2.5% to $1,310. Earnings losses were widespread, with much of the decline attributable to decreases in earnings and employment in architectural, engineering and related services, and scientific research and development services.

Average weekly earnings by province

Compared with 12 months earlier, average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees increased in three provinces: Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. At the same time, average earnings declined in Alberta and Quebec. Earnings were little changed in the other provinces.

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

Compared with July 2015, average weekly earnings in Prince Edward Island rose 4.1% to $829. The growth in average earnings was mainly driven by increases in manufacturing, finance and insurance, and wholesale trade.

Average earnings in Nova Scotia increased 2.2% to $855 in the 12 months to July. Earnings grew notably in educational services, while there were declines in transportation and warehousing, and health care and social assistance.

In the 12 months to July, average weekly earnings in New Brunswick were up 2.0% to $873. The health care and social assistance sector contributed the most to this growth, with both employment and earnings increasing. Earnings also rose notably in manufacturing and public administration, while there were declines in wholesale trade and professional, scientific and technical services.

In contrast, average earnings in Alberta were down 1.6% to $1,119 in the 12 months to July, largely because of a combination of employment and earnings losses in professional, scientific, and technical services, and wholesale trade. Employment declines in the high-earning sector of mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction also contributed to the decrease in average weekly earnings in the province.

Compared with 12 months earlier, average weekly earnings in Quebec decreased 1.0% to $875. Losses were widespread, with notable declines in accommodation and food services; transportation and warehousing; and professional, scientific and technical services. On the other hand, there were increases in construction, and finance and insurance.

Non-farm payroll employment by sector

The total number of non-farm payroll jobs was virtually unchanged in July, following an increase of 71,700 in June. The largest job gains were in educational services, accommodation and food services, and administrative and support services. At the same time, there were fewer payroll jobs in retail trade, public administration and "other services."

Compared with 12 months earlier, the number of non-farm payroll employees rose by 180,100 or 1.1%. Payroll jobs increased the most in health care and social assistance (+63,800 or +3.5%); accommodation and food services (+37,500 or +3.0%); educational services (+29,900 or +2.4%); and public administration (+27,700 or +2.7%).

Over the same period, there were fewer payroll jobs in manufacturing (-23,500 or -1.6%); mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (-21,100 or -10.0%); and "other services" (-15,900 or -2.9%).



  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 October 14. For more information, consult the document Real-time CANSIM tables.

Next release

Data on payroll employment, earnings and hours for August will be released on October 27.

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 (5202) from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours for June 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 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 Gordon Song (613-793-2392; gordon.song@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: