Average hourly wages in Canada continue to rise for both salaried and hourly employees

Average hourly wages in Canada continue to rise for both salaried and hourly employees

 

According to recently released data from Statistics Canada (StatsCan), both salaried and hourly employees in Canada saw their average hourly wages rise in February 2023.

 

On average, across the country, salaried employees saw their month-over-month wages increase from $42.37 to $42.58 between January and February 2023. The same is true for employees paid on an hourly basis, whose average wage rose from $29.25 to $29.44.

Note: Both average hourly wage increases include overtime hours

In both cases, these increases continue recent trends. Hourly wages for Canada’s salaried employees have now increased for six straight months and hourly-paid workers have seen their wages rise for eight months in a row.

 

StatsCan’s data also details average hourly wage data by province/territory and by industry, which is what we will explore below.

Average hourly wages – salaried employees, by province/territory

 

The following table outlines how average hourly wages have changed for salaried employees in each province between December 2022 and February 2023.

Broken down by region, each section below identifies the three industries in each province/territory where salaried employees have experienced the highest average hourly wage increases between January and February 2023.

British Columbia (BC)

Highest hourly wage increases

Forestry, Logging and Support (+$3.16) – $40.77 to $43.93

Utilities (+$1.95) – $59.98 to $61.93

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+$1.61) – $45.74 to $47.35

Ontario (ON)

Highest hourly wage increases

Information and Cultural Industries (+$2.34) – $49.05 to $51.39

Utilities (+$2.31) – $60.96 to $63.27

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+$2.02) – $46.47 to $48.49

Quebec (QC)

Highest hourly wage increases

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing (+$3.58) – $35.82 to $39.40

Utilities (+$3.49) – $65.61 to $69.10

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+$3.15) – $44.16 to $47.31

Average hourly wages – hourly-paid employees, by province/territory

The following table outlines how average hourly wages have changed for hourly-paid employees in each province between December 2022 and February 2023.