Alberta earnings top Canadian provinces: Up 5% from a year ago
CALGARY — Average weekly earnings in Alberta were the highest in the country among all provinces in June, according to Statistics Canada.
And the federal agency also reported Thursday that the annual growth rate here topped all the other provinces as well.
In June, average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees hit $1,041.45 in Alberta, an increase of 0.5 per cent from May and a hike of 5.0 per cent from June 2010.
Statistics Canada said earnings were $876.27 across the country. That was a 0.3 per cent rise from May and up 3.0 per cent year-over-year.
“Alberta has recorded year-over-year growth in earnings above the national average since March 2010,” added the federal agency.
Year-over-year growth in average weekly earnings exceeded the national average of 3.0 per cent in two of Canada’s largest industrial sectors: professional, scientific and technical services as well as retail trade.
In the 12 months to June, average weekly earnings in professional, scientific and technical services increased 5.2 per cent to $1,242.91, said the federal agency.
“Since June 2010, a number of industries within the sector have had notable earnings growth. They included architectural, engineering and related services; management, scientific and technical consulting services; and computer systems design and related services.”
The second fastest rate of growth in average weekly earnings occurred in retail trade, where it rose 3.7 per cent to $520.26, spread across a number of industries.
Non-farm payroll employment in Alberta rose to just over 1.8 million people, representing a 0.6 per cent jump from May and an increase of 3.8 per cent year-over-year. Across Canada, employment rose to just over $14.9 million people. That’s a 0.4 per cent monthly hike and an annual increase of 1.8 per cent.
“On a year-over-year basis, the fastest growth was in the mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction sector, where payroll employment increased by 19,800 (10.6 per cent). The bulk of the growth occurred in support activities for mining, oil and gas extraction in Alberta,” said Statistics Canada.
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