Average weekly payroll earnings grew 4 per cent in a year: StatsCan

Alberta and Quebec among provinces with growth above national average

Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees rose by four per cent to $874.83 between February 2010 and February 2011 — higher than the increase for the same time period the year before, according to a report from Statistics Canada.

Average weekly earnings grew 2.7 per cent between February 2009 and February 2010, according to “The Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours” from the April 28 edition of The Daily.

Some of the recent increase is attributable to a 0.9 per-cent increase in the average number of hours worked per week. From February 2009 to February 2010, the average number of hours worked each week declined 0.3 per cent.

Other factors contributing to the increase in February 2011 were wage growth and changes in job growth composition by industry, occupation and level of job experience, said Statistics Canada.

Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island had the slowest payroll growth while there was above-average growth in Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and Saskatchewan.

Four of the 10 industries with growth above the national average had more than 700,000 employees: administrative and support services (up 8.2 per cent), professional, scientific and technical services (up 5.9 per cent), educational services (up 5.4 per cent) and wholesale trade (up 4.4 per cent).

Non-farm payroll employment increased in February, gaining 23,600 jobs, an increase of 0.2 per cent., found Statistics Canada. Compared with a year earlier the number of payroll jobs grew 1.9 per cent or 277,700 jobs. Manufacturing, construction, finance and insurance and wholesale and retail trades all saw job increases.

Increases in payroll employment in February were offset by job decreases in industries such as health care, social assistance and educational services.


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