Workers’ weekly wages in three western provinces slid in late 2015, November data from Statistic Canada shows.
From October 2015 to November 2015, the average weekly wage in Manitoba declined 0.9%, Saskatchewan was down by 1.1% and Alberta was off 0.5%. Only British Columbia reported no change in the value of weekly wages from the previous month.
The 12-month trend was also down, but only in Alberta and Saskatchewan, the two provinces most highly reliant on oil-and-gas revenue. Over the 2015 calendar year, wages in Alberta were down 2.4% and Saskatchewan was off 1.2%. Lower wages for these provinces reflects the fewer number of overtime hours worked and the loss of higher paying jobs.
Manitoba and B.C. both saw a 12-month increase in weekly wages, by 1.7% and 1% respectively.
Even with the decline, Alberta and Saskatchewan still lead the western provinces with the highest average weekly wages, $1,130 and $980 respectively. That surpasses the national average weekly wage of $951 and the average for western Canada of $997. B.C. and Manitoba lag behind with $911 and $880 respectively.
Since January 2008, B.C.’s wages have increased about 18%, less than both the Canadian at 19% and western Canada average at 22.6%. In the same time period, Manitoba surpassed saw weekly wage rate grow by 21%.
Over this same seven-year period, Saskatchewan’s wages increased by 29%, slightly more than Alberta’s 27%. As trouble in the oil patch grinds on, the gap between Alberta’s average wage and the national average is narrowing.
– Janice Plumstead is a Senior Economist