Statistics Canada tracks the average weekly wage for Canada, the provinces, and territories. The data is tracked by Sector (Goods Producing and Services Producing) and by Industry using the North American Industry Classification System.
The average weekly wages for Goods Producing Sector Industries jobs are all higher than the average weekly wage for 71% of Services Sector Industries jobs.
Along with showing the general upward trend for average weekly wages over the long term, the following graph provides a quick understanding of the relationships between Goods and Services Producing Sector wages for Canada and Alberta as well as how Alberta’s wages compare to the Canadian overall average.
Data Source: Statistics Canada. Table – 14-10-0203-01 Average weekly earnings by industry, monthly, unadjusted for seasonality
Over the 16 -year period (01/2004 to 01/2019) Alberta’s average annual weekly wage change was 3.4% for the Goods Producing Sector and 3.87% for the Services Producing Sector, Canada’s annual average wage change was 2.57% (Goods) and 3.14% (Services). Alberta’s average weekly wages are higher than the Canadian average weekly wage.
The Global Recession (2007 – 2010) impact on Canada as a whole is seen in the average weekly wages for Canada. The impact of the 2014 oil and gas industry and resulting economic slowdown in Alberta are clearly visible in the drop in average weekly wage in 2016. While the Alberta Services Sector Industries have recovered slightly (+0.05%) as compared to the 2015 average, the Goods Sector average weekly wages remain lower as of January 2019.
Reduced numbers of highly paid senior staff, wage rollbacks, wage freezes and the completion of severance package payouts are among reasons why it took until 2016 for the impact of the recession to show up in the average weekly wage.
Questions or comments? Please contact me at anne@annehoward.com.