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Payroll employment, earnings and hours, June 2019

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Released: 2019-08-29

Average weekly earnings — Canada

$1,026.07

June 2019

2.5% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.L.

$1,067.03

June 2019

1.7% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — P.E.I.

$861.96

June 2019

4.7% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.S.

$893.53

June 2019

3.3% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.B.

$937.49

June 2019

3.9% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Que.

$969.08

June 2019

3.5% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Ont.

$1,041.77

June 2019

2.2% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Man.

$955.72

June 2019

1.4% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Sask.

$1,038.05

June 2019

1.6% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Alta.

$1,169.85

June 2019

1.9% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — B.C.

$996.30

June 2019

3.2% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Y.T.

$1,172.39

June 2019

4.5% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.W.T.

$1,432.63

June 2019

0.7% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Nvt.

$1,433.47

June 2019

4.3% increase

(12-month change)

Non-farm payroll employees earned an average of $1,026 per week in June, down 0.5% from the previous month, and up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis.

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 32.6 hours per week in June, little changed from May, but down from 32.8 hours in June 2018.

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."

Earnings up in seven of the largest industrial sectors

Year over year, average weekly earnings increased in 7 of the 10 largest industrial sectors, led by wholesale trade. At the same time, earnings were little changed in retail trade, construction, and educational services.

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

Earnings in wholesale trade rose 6.7% to $1,267 in June, partly as a result of earnings being at a relative low point in June 2018. Employment and earnings gains in building material and supplies wholesalers contributed the most to the rise, followed by employment growth in machinery, equipment and supplies wholesalers.

On a year-over-year basis, earnings in professional, scientific and technical services increased 4.7% to $1,436. At the industry level, gains in computer systems design and related services; architectural, engineering and related services; and legal services accounted for most of the growth.

Average weekly earnings in manufacturing rose 4.2% to $1,124 in June, with most of the increase occurring in the fourth quarter of 2018. The growth was driven by fabricated metal product and paper manufacturing.

For payroll employees in accommodation and food services, earnings grew 3.3% to $417. The full-service restaurants and limited-service eating place industry accounted for most of the increase. According to the Monthly Survey of Food Services and Drinking Places, on a month-over-month basis, sales in the food services and drinking places subsector were up in June, coinciding with the Toronto Raptors playing in and winning the NBA Finals.

In administrative and support services, earnings were up 2.9% to $841 in June, with most of the growth occurring from November to March.

Year over year, average weekly earnings in health care and social assistance were up 2.5% to $935, led by ambulatory health care services. Most of the rise in the sector occurred from September to December.

Earnings in public administration increased 2.3% to $1,334 in June, with the growth spread across subsectors.

Earnings up in all provinces

Compared with June 2018, average weekly earnings increased in all provinces, led by Prince Edward Island.

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

Earnings in Prince Edward Island grew 4.7% to $862 in June. This increase was due in part to earnings being at a relative low point in June 2018. Gains were spread across sectors, but driven by manufacturing, professional, scientific and technical services, and wholesale trade.

Earnings in New Brunswick were up 3.9% to $937 in June, with educational services, manufacturing, and health care and social assistance largely accounting for the growth.

In Quebec, earnings increased 3.5% to $969 in June. Manufacturing, professional, scientific and technical services, and health care and social assistance contributed the most to the growth.

On a year-over-year basis, earnings in Nova Scotia increased 3.3% to $894. Gains were spread across a majority of sectors.

For payroll employees in British Columbia, average weekly earnings were up 3.2% to $996. Professional, scientific and technical services and construction were the two largest contributors to the rise, though earnings growth was widespread across sectors.

In Ontario, earnings were up 2.2% to $1,042 in June. Professional, scientific and technical services and wholesale trade were the largest contributors to the growth.

Earnings increased 1.9% to $1,170 for payroll employees in Alberta, led by transportation and warehousing and administrative and support services.

Compared with June 2018, earnings in Newfoundland and Labrador rose 1.7% to $1,067. Construction and mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction were the largest contributors to the increase.

In Saskatchewan, earnings grew 1.6% to $1,038 in June. Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction contributed the most to the rise, which was moderated by a decline in construction.

On a year-over-year basis, earnings in Manitoba were up 1.4% to $956. While gains were spread across sectors, manufacturing was the largest contributor to the growth. A decline in educational services moderated the overall increase in earnings in the province.

Payroll employment down from May to June

The number of non-farm payroll employees decreased by 10,700 from May to June, with the largest decreases posted in retail trade and manufacturing. At the same time, employment increased the most in professional, scientific and technical services, as well as in finance and insurance.

Compared with June 2018, the number of payroll employees rose by 302,200 (+1.8%). The largest increases were observed in health care and social assistance (+67,000, or +3.4%), professional, scientific and technical services (+41,800, or +4.5%), and educational services (+39,600, or +3.0%). At the same time, payroll employment declined in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (-3,800, or -1.9%), and information and cultural industries (-3,800, or -1.1%).

Spotlight: What drove the increase in earnings from February to May?

Despite the decrease in average weekly earnings in June, earnings grew 2.2% from February to May 2019. This was the largest three-month increase since comparable data became available in 2001.

Chart 4  Chart 4: Average weekly earnings, January 2018 to June 2019
Average weekly earnings, January 2018 to June 2019

Over the period, the month-over-month percentage growth in earnings exceeded that of the Consumer Price Index.

While the largest earnings growth from February to May was in Saskatchewan (+4.4%), three-quarters of the increase in the national average was attributable to Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia.

One-fifth (20.4%) of the national increase in earnings posted during this period was attributable to finance and insurance. This sector also saw the largest earnings growth (+7.1%), which was in part the result of special payments, such as bonuses. Roughly half of the overall rise in earnings from February to May was attributable to finance and insurance; healthcare and social assistance; retail trade; and public administration.



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 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 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. For a more in-depth discussion of 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 September 9.

Next release

Data on payroll employment, earnings and hours for July will be released on September 26.

Products

Job Vacancy Statistics (5202) from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours for May 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 Rachelle Pelletier (613-415-4867; rachelle.pelletier@canada.ca), Centre for Labour Market Information.

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