In 2021, individuals who became journeypersons—either by successfully completing an apprenticeship program or by earning a certificate of qualification—had a median employment income of $56,160. This was a 12.2% increase (+$6,120) from the median employment income of journeypersons who certified in 2020 and marked the highest median income and the most substantial year-over-year growth since the series began in 2008. The sharp increase in earnings in 2021 coincided with a robust demand for skilled tradespeople in a tight labour market and was a sharp contrast to 2020, when COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and worksite closures hindered tradespeople's capacity to work.
The strong demand for tradespeople in their own province of certification, along with lingering pandemic-related quarantine measures and travel restrictions, led to the rate of interprovincial mobility in 2021 being unchanged from 2020.
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