Payroll employment, earnings and hours, November 2018
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Released: 2019-01-30
$1,011.79
November 2018
2.0% 
(12-month change)
$1,039.79
November 2018
-0.6% 
(12-month change)
$853.37
November 2018
1.8%
(12-month change)
$889.82
November 2018
2.2%
(12-month change)
$924.17
November 2018
1.6%
(12-month change)
$934.98
November 2018
1.1%
(12-month change)
$1,035.21
November 2018
2.5%
(12-month change)
$940.68
November 2018
2.5%
(12-month change)
$1,037.53
November 2018
1.9%
(12-month change)
$1,154.24
November 2018
0.6%
(12-month change)
$983.05
November 2018
3.2%
(12-month change)
$1,139.31
November 2018
6.1%
(12-month change)
$1,470.16
November 2018
4.7%
(12-month change)
$1,382.99
November 2018
3.4%
(12-month change)
Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $1,012 in November, little changed from the previous month. Compared with 12 months earlier, earnings grew by 2.0%.
In general, changes in weekly earnings reflect a number of factors, including wage growth; changes in the composition of employment by industry, occupation and level of job experience; and average hours worked per week.
Non-farm payroll employees worked an average of 32.8 hours per week in November, virtually unchanged from the previous month and down from 33.0 hours in November 2017.
Chart 1
Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings and average weekly hours
Today, Statistics Canada released the "Earnings and payroll employment in brief: Interactive app," a new way to explore the most recent results from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours.
Average weekly earnings by sector
In the 12 months to November, average weekly earnings were up in 6 of the 10 largest industrial sectors, led by retail trade; accommodation and food services; and administrative and support services. At the same time, earnings were little changed in wholesale trade, educational services, public administration, and professional, scientific and technical services.
Chart 2
Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings in the 10 largest sectors, November 2018
Compared with November 2017, earnings in retail trade increased 7.0% to $618. Earnings growth was spread across most subsectors, with motor vehicle and parts dealers and miscellaneous store retailers contributing the most to the growth. Earnings in this sector have sustained high year-over-year growth since the end of 2017. Job vacancies and their average offered hourly wage in the third quarter of 2018 were both up in this sector on a year-over-year basis.
In the 12 months to November, earnings in accommodation and food services rose 5.9% to $415, mostly due to the full-service restaurants and limited-service eating places industry. Earnings in this sector have been trending up since the spring of 2017. Furthermore, job vacancies as well as their average offered hourly wage in this sector rose in the third quarter of 2018 compared with the third quarter of 2017.
On a year-over-year basis, average weekly earnings in administrative and support services grew 4.8% to $798, predominantly in the employment services and the services to buildings and dwellings industries.
In manufacturing, average weekly earnings increased 2.4% to $1,115. Earnings growth was observed across several subsectors, with fabricated metal product and chemical manufacturing contributing the most to the increase.
For payroll employees in construction, earnings were up 2.2% to $1,269, largely due to heavy and civil engineering construction. Increases in average weekly earnings in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec were moderated by employment declines in Alberta, which had the highest weekly earnings among the provinces in this sector.
Compared with November 2017, earnings in health care and social assistance rose 2.1% to $919, driven by nursing and residential care facilities and ambulatory health care services.
Average weekly earnings by province
Compared with November 2017, average weekly earnings rose in eight provinces, led by British Columbia.
Chart 3
Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings by province, November 2018
Average weekly earnings in British Columbia increased 3.2% to $983 in November, driven by construction. Earnings in the province have been relatively stable in recent months, following a period of increase from May to August.
In the 12 months to November, average weekly earnings in Ontario grew 2.5% to $1,035. The largest contributors to earnings growth in the province were educational services and health care and social assistance.
On a year-over-year basis, weekly earnings in Manitoba rose 2.5% to $941. Health care and social assistance, as well as manufacturing, contributed the most to the gains in the province.
In Nova Scotia, earnings increased 2.2% to $890 in the 12 months to November, largely attributable to health care and social assistance and manufacturing. Earnings in the province have been trending up since the summer of 2018.
Earnings for payroll employees in Saskatchewan rose 1.9% to $1,038 in November. Public administration and health care and social assistance contributed the most to the gains in November, which were moderated by declines in construction.
For payroll employees in Prince Edward Island, average weekly earnings were up 1.8% to $853, with the growth almost entirely driven by administrative and support services.
In New Brunswick, earnings grew 1.6% to $924, with professional, scientific and technical services contributing the most to the growth.
Compared with November 2017, earnings in Quebec increased 1.1% to $935. Growth was spread across several sectors, led by construction, but was moderated by decreases in utilities. After a period of rapid earnings growth beginning in the second half of 2017, year-over-year earnings growth slowed in the second half of 2018.
Non-farm payroll employment by sector
The number of non-farm payroll employees in November was little changed from October. The largest monthly increases were in retail trade, construction, and educational services. At the same time, payroll employment in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction decreased.
On a year-over-year basis, the number of payroll employees rose by 379,900 (+2.3%). Employment growth was observed in most sectors, led by health care and social assistance (+69,200 or +3.6%), educational services (+47,600 or +3.7%), professional, scientific and technical services (+45,600 or +5.1%) and manufacturing (+44,500 or +2.9%). In contrast, declines were observed in information and cultural industries (-4,500 or -1.3%). In addition, employment decreased in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (-3,500 or -1.7%), all in Alberta.
Sustainable Development Goals
On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.
The Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours is an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goals:
Note to readers
The Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH) is produced by a combination of a census of approximately one million payroll deductions provided by the Canada Revenue Agency, and the Business Payrolls Survey, which collects data from a sample of 15,000 establishments. Federal, provincial and territorial public administration data are collected from various administrative records provided by these levels of government. The key objective of the SEPH is to provide a monthly portrait of the level of earnings and the number of jobs and hours worked by detailed industry at the national, provincial and territorial levels.
Estimates of average weekly earnings and hours worked are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level. Payroll employment estimates are based on a census of administrative data and are not subject to sampling variability.
Statistics Canada also produces employment estimates from its Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS is a monthly household survey, the main objective of which is to divide the working-age population into three mutually exclusive groups: the employed (including the self-employed), the unemployed, and those not in the labour force. This survey is the official source for the unemployment rate, and collects data on the socio-demographic characteristics of all those in the labour market.
As a result of conceptual and methodological differences, estimates of changes from the SEPH and LFS do differ from time to time. However, the trends in the data are quite similar. To better understand the conceptual differences between employment measures from the LFS and SEPH, refer to section 8 of the Guide to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (72-203-G).
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted data, which facilitate comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Non-farm payroll employment data are for all hourly and salaried employees, as well as for the "other employees" category, which includes piece-rate and commission-only employees.
Unless otherwise specified, average weekly hours data are for hourly and salaried employees only and exclude businesses that could not be classified to a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code.
All earnings data include overtime pay and exclude businesses that could not be classified to a NAICS code. Earnings data are based on gross taxable payroll before source deductions. Average weekly earnings are derived by dividing total weekly earnings by the number of employees.
With each release, data for the current reference month are subject to revision. Data have been revised for the previous month. Users are encouraged to request and use the most up-to-date data for each month.
Improvements were made to the industry coding procedures starting in November 2018. This has resulted in a decrease in employment for the unclassified industries. The new coding procedures do not affect the total employment and earnings, but may affect estimates at the industry level.
Real-time data tables
Real-time tables 14-10-0357-01, 14-10-0358-01, 14-10-0331-01 and 14-10-0332-01 will be updated on February 11.
Next release
Data on payroll employment, earnings and hours for December 2018 will be released on February 27, 2019.
Products
Job Vacancy Statistics (5202) from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours for October are now available.
More information about the concepts and use of the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours and Job Vacancy Statistics is available in the Guide to the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (72-203-G).
The product "Earnings and payroll employment in brief: Interactive app" (14200001) was released today. This interactive visualization application provides a comprehensive picture of the Canadian labour market using the most recent data from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours. The estimates are seasonally adjusted and available by province and largest industrial sector. Historical estimates, going back 10 years, are also included. The interactive application allows users to quickly and easily explore and personalize the information presented. Combine multiple provinces and industrial sectors to create your own labour market domains of interest.
Contact information
For more information, contact us (toll-free: 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca).
To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Dylan Saunders (613-762-6972; dylan.saunders@canada.ca), Labour Statistics Division.
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