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Payroll employment, earnings and hours, April 2019

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Released: 2019-06-27

Average weekly earnings — Canada

$1,022.53

April 2019

2.9% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.L.

$1,062.31

April 2019

2.8% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — P.E.I.

$855.99

April 2019

2.1% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.S.

$896.17

April 2019

4.6% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.B.

$939.45

April 2019

3.9% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Que.

$958.33

April 2019

3.3% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Ont.

$1,043.80

April 2019

3.1% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Man.

$946.95

April 2019

1.5% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Sask.

$1,046.80

April 2019

4.0% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Alta.

$1,144.45

April 2019

-0.6% decrease

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — B.C.

$989.15

April 2019

3.8% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Y.T.

$1,160.64

April 2019

4.0% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.W.T.

$1,461.74

April 2019

5.4% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Nvt.

$1,508.43

April 2019

9.1% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $1,023 in April, up 0.7% from March. Compared with 12 months earlier, earnings grew by 2.9%.

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 32.8 hours per week in April, unchanged from the previous month and little changed from 12 months earlier.

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

To explore the most recent results of the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours in an interactive format, visit the "Earnings and payroll employment in brief: Interactive app."

Average weekly earnings by sector

On a year-over-year basis, average weekly earnings were up in 8 of the 10 largest industrial sectors, led by administrative and support services. At the same time, earnings decreased in retail trade and were little changed in wholesale trade.

Chart 2  Chart 2: Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings in the 10 largest sectors, April 2019
Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings in the 10 largest sectors, April 2019

Earnings in administrative and support services rose by 8.3% to $828 in April, partly due to earnings being at a relative low point in April 2018. Most of the increase occurred from November to March. Year over year, earnings in the sector rose in nearly all provinces, with Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia contributing the most to the growth. According to the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey (JVWS), the offered hourly wage for vacant positions in this sector rose by 7.7% in the first quarter of 2019 compared with the first quarter 2018.

Average weekly earnings in professional, scientific and technical services rose by 7.1% to $1,460, mostly due to employment and earnings gains in the high-paying computer systems design and related services industry. Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia contributed the most to the earnings growth in this sector. At the same time, average weekly hours increased by 2.8%. Earnings in professional, scientific and technical services have been on a long-term upward trend since mid-2016.

In the 12 months to April, weekly earnings in manufacturing grew by 6.5% to $1,148. Earnings in the sector rose in the majority of the provinces, with Ontario and Quebec contributing the most to the growth. At the subsector level, gains were led by food manufacturing. According to the JVWS, job vacancies in manufacturing increased by 15.2% in the first quarter of 2019 compared with the first quarter 2018.

For payroll employees in accommodation and food services, earnings were up by 3.3% to $411, largely due to a rise in the full-service restaurants and limited-service eating place industry.

Compared with April 2018, earnings in health care and social assistance were up by 3.2% to $928. Earnings growth was observed in ambulatory health care services, hospitals and social assistance.

Average weekly earnings in educational services grew by 3.1% to $1,064, mainly driven by employment and earnings gains in elementary and secondary schools, and in universities. Increases were observed across six provinces, with Ontario, British Columbia and New Brunswick contributing the most to the rise in the sector.

In public administration, earnings rose 1.4% to $1,325 in April, mostly due to gains in provincial and territorial public administration.

Year-over-year, average weekly earnings in construction rose by 1.3% to $1,262. The increase was largely due to a rise in earnings in the construction of buildings subsector and an employment increase in heavy and civil engineering construction. Provincially, British Columbia contributed the most to the growth, which was tempered by a decrease in employment in this sector in Alberta.

Average weekly earnings in retail trade were down by 1.5% to $597. General merchandise stores and miscellaneous store retailers were the largest contributors to the decrease. Average weekly hours were down 3.5% in the sector on a year-over-year basis, from 28.4 hours to 27.4 hours.

Average weekly earnings by province

Compared with April 2018, average weekly earnings rose in nine provinces, led by Nova Scotia. At the same time, earnings were little changed in Alberta.

Chart 3  Chart 3: Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings by province, April 2019
Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings by province, April 2019

In Nova Scotia, average weekly earnings increased by 4.6% to $896 in April, with gains spread across many sectors. Construction, health care and social assistance as well as professional, scientific and technical services were the largest contributors to the rise. Earnings in the province have been trending upward since mid-2018. According to the JVWS, the offered hourly wage in the province rose by 12.0% from the first quarter of 2018 to the first quarter of 2019, the fastest growth among the provinces.

Earnings for payroll employees in Saskatchewan rose by 4.0% to $1,047 in April. Health care and social assistance contributed the most to the gains, while other notable contributions came from mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, as well as educational services.

Average weekly earnings in New Brunswick increased by 3.9% to $939 in April, driven by educational services and manufacturing. Over the same period, average weekly hours increased by 1.2%, from 33.3 hours to 33.7 hours.

On a year-over-year basis, weekly earnings in British Columbia were up by 3.8% to $989, with increases across the majority of the sectors. Construction and professional, scientific and technical services contributed the most to the growth.

Compared with April 2018, earnings in Quebec grew by 3.3% to $958. Manufacturing and professional, scientific and technical services were the largest contributors to the growth.

In Ontario, earnings were up by 3.1% to $1,044, with the increase spread across most sectors. Professional, scientific and technical services was the largest contributor to the increase.

For payroll employees in Newfoundland and Labrador, average weekly earnings rose by 2.8% to $1,062, with construction, as well as mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, and manufacturing contributing the most to the gains. At the same time, a decrease in health care and social assistance tempered the earnings growth.

Average weekly earnings in Prince Edward Island rose by 2.1% to $856 with the increase driven by professional, scientific and technical services. At the same time, the growth was moderated by a notable earnings decline in health care and social assistance.

On a year-over-year basis, weekly earnings in Manitoba rose by 1.5% to $947. Manufacturing and professional, scientific and technical services were the largest contributors to the rise, while a decrease in employment in health care and social assistance tempered the increase.

Non-farm payroll employment by sector

The number of non-farm payroll employees rose by 17,000 from March to April. The largest monthly increases were in educational services; professional, scientific and technical services; and information and cultural industries. At the same time, payroll employment declined in administrative and support services and in accommodation and food services.

In the 12 months to April, the number of payroll employees increased by 377,300 (+2.3%). Employment increased in nearly all sectors, led by health care and social assistance (+61,700 or +3.2%), retail trade (+48,400 or +2.4%) and educational services (+46,300 or +3.5%). At the same time, payroll employment declined in information and cultural industries (-7,600 or -2.2%) and mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction (-4,900 or -2.4%).

Spotlight: Alberta's evolving labour market

In Alberta, payroll employment in health care and social assistance, and in educational services trended up through the 2014-2016 oil price shock and in the years since. While these two sectors represented 15.1% of payroll employment in Alberta in August 2014—just before the oil price shock—in April 2019, their share was 18.4%, pointing to a shift in the province's labour market in recent years.

Chart 4  Chart 4: Payroll employees for selected sectors in Alberta, January 2014 to April 2019
Payroll employees for selected sectors in Alberta, January 2014 to April 2019

In contrast, mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction represented 6.5% of payroll employment in Alberta in August 2014, and 4.9% in April 2019. Other notable payroll employment losses since the 2014-2016 oil price shock were seen in construction, manufacturing, and professional, scientific and technical services—all of which have above-average weekly earnings (Table 3). Together, these four sectors accounted for 30.3% of payroll employment in Alberta in August 2014, and 25.2% in April 2019.

In terms of payroll employment levels, in early 2019, mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; and professional, scientific and technical services all remained below their previous 2014 highs. Furthermore, according to the JVWS, the number of job vacancies decreased sharply from the first quarter of 2018 to the first quarter of 2019 in construction (-21.5%) and in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (-53.8%). At the same time, the number of job vacancies was little changed in manufacturing over the period. For professional, scientific and technical services, the number of job vacancies increased by 41.2%, which could indicate renewed strength in this highly-paid sector in the coming months.




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 data tables

Real-time tables 14-10-0357-01, 14-10-0358-01, 14-10-0331-01 and 14-10-0332-01 will be updated on July 8.

Next release

Data on payroll employment, earnings and hours for May will be released on July 25.

Products

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

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

The product "Earnings and payroll employment in brief: Interactive app" (Catalogue number14200001) is now available. This interactive visualization application provides a comprehensive picture of the Canadian labour market using the most recent data from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours. The estimates are seasonally adjusted and available by province and largest industrial sector. Historical estimates, going back 10 years, are also included. The interactive application allows users to quickly and easily explore and personalize the information presented. Combine multiple provinces and industrial sectors to create your own labour market domains of interest.

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 Valerie Gagnon (613-867-5782; valerie.gagnon@canada.ca), Labour Statistics Division.

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