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Payroll employment, earnings and hours, July 2018

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Released: 2018-09-27

Average weekly earnings — Canada

$996.66

July 2018

3.0% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.L.

$1,028.09

July 2018

1.1% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — P.E.I.

$832.41

July 2018

2.3% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.S.

$869.24

July 2018

1.1% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.B.

$906.74

July 2018

4.4% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Que.

$924.56

July 2018

3.0% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Ont.

$1,012.78

July 2018

3.3% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Man.

$937.40

July 2018

3.5% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Sask.

$1,012.85

July 2018

1.1% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Alta.

$1,147.65

July 2018

1.8% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — B.C.

$967.00

July 2018

3.1% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Y.T.

$1,123.04

July 2018

2.3% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — N.W.T.

$1,403.82

July 2018

0.8% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings — Nvt.

$1,387.96

July 2018

3.9% increase

(12-month change)

Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $997 in July, a decrease of 0.4% from the previous month. Compared with 12 months earlier, earnings increased 3.0%.

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 July, little changed from the previous month. Compared with July 2017, average hours worked edged up from 32.7 hours per week.

Chart 1  Chart 1: Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings and average weekly hours
Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings and average weekly hours

Average weekly earnings by sector

Compared with July 2017, average weekly earnings increased in 6 of the 10 largest industrial sectors, led by retail trade. At the same time, earnings declined in manufacturing and were little changed in educational services, administrative and support services, and wholesale trade.

In retail trade, average weekly earnings increased on a year-over-year basis by 8.6% to $604. The gains were spread across many subsectors, including food and beverage stores, motor vehicle and parts dealers, building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers, as well as general merchandise stores. Earnings in the food and beverage stores subsector have been trending upward since August 2017.

For payroll employees working in accommodation and food services, average weekly earnings were $405 in July, an increase of 6.0% compared with July 2017. Earnings rose in both food services and drinking places, as well as in accommodation services. Provincially, Ontario contributed the most to the rise in this sector.

Average weekly earnings in construction increased 5.3% to $1,272 in July. Earnings were up in all subsectors, with specialty trade contractors contributing the most to the rise. Among the provinces, Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec contributed the most to the earnings increase over the 12 months to July, while decreases in Newfoundland and Labrador tempered the rise in this sector.

In July, earnings in public administration rose 4.4% to $1,301, driven by increases in Ontario and Quebec. Gains were spread across all subsectors, with federal public administration contributing the most to the increase.

In professional, scientific and technical services, average weekly earnings increased 3.7% to $1,387. Most of the increase was attributable to employment gains in the relatively high-paying computer systems design and related services industry. From a provincial perspective, Ontario was the leading contributor to the rise for both earnings and employment in the 12 months to July in this sector.

Payroll employees in health care and social assistance had average weekly earnings of $898 in July, up 2.2% from 12 months earlier. Earnings in this sector were at a relatively low point in July 2017. Ambulatory health care services contributed the most to the rise. Among the provinces, Ontario contributed the most to the increase in this sector.

In July, payroll employees in manufacturing saw their average weekly earnings decrease 1.6% to $1,076 compared with 12 months earlier. Transportation equipment manufacturing as well as paper manufacturing were the main contributing subsectors to the decline.

Chart 2  Chart 2: Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings in the 10 largest sectors, July 2018
Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings in the 10 largest sectors, July 2018

Average weekly earnings by province

In the 12 months to July, average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees increased notably in eight provinces, led by New Brunswick and Manitoba. At the same time, earnings were little changed in Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador.

In New Brunswick, average weekly earnings increased 4.4% in the 12 months to July, to $907. Gains in health care and social assistance contributed the most to the rise, followed by the finance and insurance sector. Earnings in the province have been relatively flat since February 2018 and were at a low point in July 2017.

In Manitoba, average weekly earnings of payroll employees rose 3.5% to $937. Manufacturing as well as information and cultural industries were the largest contributors to the growth in this province.

Average weekly earnings in Ontario were up 3.3% to $1,013. Many sectors contributed to this increase, most notably professional, scientific and technical services, construction, and retail trade.

Over the previous 12 months, average weekly earnings increased 3.1% in British Columbia to $967. Construction was the main contributor to the gain in the province. Year-over-year earnings in this sector were up by 9.9%, increasing at a faster pace since a relative low point in April.

For payroll employees in Quebec, average weekly earnings were up 3.0% to $925, with public administration and construction contributing the most to the rise. Year-over-year earnings increased 6.2% in both of these sectors.

In Prince Edward Island, earnings grew 2.3% in the 12 months to July, to $832. Increases in manufacturing and in administrative and support services were moderated by declines in educational services as well as in accommodation and food services. Earnings in administrative and support services have been increasing since April, following a stable period that started in December 2017. Earnings in accommodation and food services have been trending downward since April.

In the 12 months to July, average weekly earnings in Alberta increased 1.8% to $1,148. The main contributor to the rise was the retail trade sector. In Alberta, earnings in that sector increased 8.9% over the past 12 months.

Average weekly earnings in Nova Scotia grew by 1.1% in July to $869. Notable earnings growth in health care and social assistance, as well as in professional, scientific and technical services, was partially offset by decreases in educational services and in administrative and support services.

Chart 3  Chart 3: Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings by province, July 2018
Year-over-year change in average weekly earnings by province, July 2018

Non-farm payroll employment by sector

The number of non-farm payroll employees was little changed from June. The number of payroll jobs increased the most in manufacturing, most notably in the food and chemical manufacturing subsectors.

At the same time, payroll employment decreased in the accommodation and food services sector, led by the full-service restaurants and limited-service eating place industry. The number of payroll jobs also fell in administrative and support services, led by services to buildings and dwellings.

Compared with July 2017, the number of payroll employees rose by 331,700 (+2.0%). Increases were widespread, led by health care and social assistance (+54,600 or +2.8%). Most of the growth in the sector was due to the ambulatory health care services and social assistance subsectors.

Over the same period, the number of payroll jobs also rose notably in the manufacturing sector (+44,900 or +3.0%). Growth was spread across the subsectors.

Payroll employment increased markedly in professional, scientific and technical services (+42,300 or +4.7%) and in educational services (+31,100 or +2.4%).

At the same time, the number of payroll employees declined in information and cultural industries (-6,000 or -1.7%). Telecommunications accounted for most of the decrease.



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 (Catalogue number72-203-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.

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 October 9.

Next release

Data on payroll employment, earnings and hours for August will be released on October 25.

Products

Job Vacancy Statistics (5202) from the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours for June 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 (Catalogue number72-203-G).

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 Bertrand Ouellet-Léveillé (613-864-6641; bertrand.ouellet-leveille@canada.ca) or Client Services (toll-free: 1-866-873-8788; statcan.labour-travail.statcan@canada.ca), Labour Statistics Division.

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