Average hourly wage has increased faster
than inflation in Canada but the average rate of pay rise hides some
disparities between economic sectors.
Each
year, for various reasons such as rising living cost,
seniority entitlement, or career advancement, workers benefits from a pay rise
in Canada. For example, the province of
Ontario raised the general minimum wage
rate to $11 on June 1, 2014. A month earlier, in Quebec, the minimum wage
rate jumped to $10.35. The minimum wage rate is the less generous compensation an
employee is legally entitled to in return for one hour labor supply.
I have
compared the rise in the average hourly wage to inflation in Canada in order to see whether workers have lost or
gained purchasing power. Inflation is the rise in the average price of the goods
and services households consume. Has the price of what Canadians consume
increased faster than what they earn?
Average Pay Rise and Inflation,
Canada, 1998-2013, Data Source: Statistics Canada
|
In
2013, the average hourly wages in the sector of accommodation and food services
and that of agriculture were respectively $13.76 and $15.7, which is less than
the half of the average hourly wages in the sectors of public administration
($32.31) and that forestry, fishing, mining and related activities ($34.53). But,
pay rises in the two latter sectors were above the national average,
2.62 % and 4.32 % respectively whereas wage only rose by .95 %
in the sector of accommodation and food services and fell by .82 % in the
sector of agriculture.
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