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Payroll employment, earnings and hours, February 2018

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Released: 2018-04-26

Average weekly earnings — Canada

$996.92

February 2018

3.4% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.L.

$1,031.60

February 2018

-0.9% decrease

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — P.E.I.

$844.68

February 2018

3.6% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.S.

$860.76

February 2018

1.7% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.B.

$905.18

February 2018

3.8% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Que.

$926.45

February 2018

4.4% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Ont.

$1,015.67

February 2018

3.3% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Man.

$928.64

February 2018

2.4% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Sask.

$1,013.64

February 2018

1.6% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Alta.

$1,158.11

February 2018

4.3% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — B.C.

$957.85

February 2018

3.0% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Y.T.

$1,073.12

February 2018

-2.3% decrease

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.W.T.

$1,418.56

February 2018

2.0% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Nvt.

$1,361.70

February 2018

4.4% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $997 in February, little changed from the previous month. Earnings were up 3.4% compared with 12 months earlier, largely the result of gains in the second half of 2017.

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

In general, changes in weekly earnings reflect a number of factors, including wage growth; changes in the composition of employment by industry, occupation and level of job experience; and average hours worked per week.

Non-farm payroll employees worked an average of 32.7 hours per week in February, little changed from the previous month and up from 32.5 hours in February 2017.

Average weekly earnings by sector

Compared with 12 months earlier, average weekly earnings increased in 8 of the 10 largest industrial sectors, led by accommodation and food services. At the same time, earnings were little changed in health care and social assistance, as well as in manufacturing.

Chart 2  Chart 2: Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings in the 10 largest sectors, February 2018
Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings in the 10 largest sectors, February 2018

In accommodation and food services, average weekly earnings rose 8.6% to $399. Earnings in this sector have been on an upward trend since March 2017. Full-service restaurants and limited-service eating places, as well as traveller accommodation, accounted for the bulk of the increase. Ontario contributed the most to the year-over-year earnings growth in the sector. The accommodation and food services sector in Ontario has been on an upward trend since the beginning of 2017, with the pace of growth increasing since November.

Among employees in retail trade, average weekly earnings increased 7.5% to $596. Earnings in the sector have trended upward since September 2017. Gains were spread across a number of subsectors, including general merchandise stores and health care and personal care stores. Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec accounted for most of the earnings growth in the sector.

In wholesale trade, earnings grew 4.4% to an average of $1,239 per week. Gains were mostly attributable to machinery, equipment and supplies wholesalers, which has been the largest contributor to year-over-year increases in this sector since March 2017. The earnings gains in the wholesale trade sector were largely the result of increases in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

For employees in public administration, average weekly earnings rose 3.6% to $1,290, with most of the increase occurring in the second half of 2017. The growth was driven by gains in provincial, territorial, and federal public administrations. Most provinces recorded increases in the sector, with the fastest growth occurring in Alberta.

In professional, scientific and technical services, earnings were up 3.0% to an average of $1,373 per week. The rise in earnings was almost entirely driven by computer systems design and related services, which has been the largest contributor to year-over-year earnings growth in the sector since September 2017. Among the provinces, the fastest pace of earnings growth for the sector was in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.

Average weekly earnings in educational services grew 2.9% to $1,049, mainly driven by gains in elementary and secondary schools. Ontario contributed the most to the rise.

In administrative and support services, earnings rose 2.4% to $793. Employment services and services to buildings and dwellings contributed the most to the increase. At the same time, a notable employment decline in the relatively high-paying office administrative services industry tempered the overall increase in the sector. The earnings gains in the sector were largely the result of increases in Ontario.

For construction employees, earnings increased 1.7% to an average of $1,233 per week, driven entirely by specialty trade contractors. Ontario contributed the most to the rise, while a notable decline in Newfoundland and Labrador moderated the overall increase in the sector.

Average weekly earnings by province

In the 12 months to February, average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees increased in nine provinces, led by Quebec and Alberta. At the same time, earnings were little changed in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Chart 3  Chart 3: Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings by province, February 2018
Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings by province, February 2018

In Quebec, average weekly earnings rose 4.4% to $926. Growth was spread across most sectors, including professional, scientific and technical services; health care and social assistance; and retail trade. Both earnings and employment in Quebec have been on an upward trend since summer 2016.

Average weekly earnings in Alberta increased 4.3% to $1,158. Earnings in the province have been on an upward trend since March 2017. Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction contributed the most to the year-over-year growth, rising 10.7%. Employment in the sector has been relatively flat since summer 2017 and is still below the peak observed in August 2014, just prior to the oil-price shock.

In New Brunswick, average weekly earnings rose 3.8% to $905. Earnings increased in many sectors, with health care and social assistance, the sector with the largest number of payroll employees in the province, contributing the most to earnings gains.

In Prince Edward Island, average weekly earnings increased 3.6% to $845, driven by retail trade, educational services, and administrative and support services. Earnings in retail trade in the province were at a relatively low point in February 2017.

Average weekly earnings in Ontario were up 3.3% to $1,016, continuing an upward trend that began in August 2017. Many sectors contributed to the increase, including public administration, finance and insurance, as well as retail trade. At the same time, a notable decline in information and cultural industries tempered the overall growth in the province.

Average weekly earnings in British Columbia rose 3.0% to $958. Retail trade contributed the most to the increase, with most of the gains in the sector occurring in the second half of 2017.

In Manitoba, average weekly earnings increased 2.4% to $929. Earnings grew in a number of sectors, with information and cultural industries, retail trade and manufacturing contributing the most to the increase.

Average weekly earnings in Nova Scotia were up 1.7% to $861, driven by health care and social assistance. The overall earnings growth in the province was moderated by a notable decline in information and cultural industries.

For payroll employees in Saskatchewan, average weekly earnings increased 1.6% to $1,014. Public administration contributed the most to the rise, partly due to earnings in the sector being at a relatively low point in February 2017.

Non-farm payroll employment by sector

In February, the number of non-farm payroll employees was up 42,200 from January. The number of payroll jobs increased the most in manufacturing and construction. At the same time, payroll employment decreased in the "other services" sector, most notably in religious, grant-making and civic organizations, as well as in personal and laundry services.

Compared with February 2017, the number of payroll employees rose by 359,800 (+2.2%). Increases were observed across the majority of sectors, led by manufacturing (+49,900 or +3.3%) and health care and social assistance (+42,200 or +2.2%).

On a year-over-year basis, the number of payroll jobs also increased markedly in professional, scientific and technical services (+34,900 or +4.0%); educational services (+34,200 or +2.7%); and public administration (+33,300 or +3.1%). At the same time, a notable decline was observed in information and cultural industries (-6,400 or -1.8%).



Sustainable Development Goals

On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.

The Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours is an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goals:

  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. Federal, provincial and territorial public administration data are collected from various administrative records provided by these levels of government. 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 the 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.

Unless otherwise specified, 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 May 7. For more information, consult the document Real-time CANSIM tables.

Next release

Data on payroll employment, earnings and hours for March will be released on May 31.

Products

A summary table is also available.

Job Vacancy Statistics (5202) from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours for January 2018 are now available in CANSIM.

More information about the concepts and use of the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours and Job Vacancy Statistics is available in an updated issue of the Guide to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (Catalogue number72-203-G).

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 Dominique Dionne-Simard (613-618-9411; dominique.dionne-simard@canada.ca) or Client Services (toll-free: 1-866-873-8788; statcan.labour-travail.statcan@canada.ca), Labour Statistics Division.

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