Wages in Canada, 1981 to 2024

Released: 2025-06-09

Many developments have shaped the Canadian labour market over the last four decades. Many of these changes potentially affected the Canadian wage structure during that period, including the decline in manufacturing; the advent of computer-based technologies, automation and artificial intelligence (AI); and the substantial growth in workers' educational attainment and women's participation in the labour force.

To better understand how wages in Canada (before taxes and deductions) have evolved over the last four decades, a new presentation released today, titled "Research to Insights: Wages in Canada, 1981 to 2024," includes data from administrative sources, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and selected household surveys conducted during the 1980s. Here are some highlights.

From 1981 to 2024, median real hourly wages grew four times faster in full-time jobs than in part-time jobs

From 1981 to 2024, median real hourly wages grew by 20%, with most of this growth occurring after 2003. Median real hourly wages in full-time jobs—jobs that involve at least 30 work hours per week—grew by 24%. In contrast, median real hourly wages in part-time jobs increased by 6%.

Real hourly wages of men and women holding full-time jobs grew at a different pace across age groups and time periods

Over the last four decades, wages of young full-time employees grew at a slower pace compared with their older counterparts. From 1981 to 1998, the median real hourly wages of men and women aged 25 to 34 employed full-time grew roughly 20 percentage points less than those of their counterparts aged 45 to 54.

However, different patterns were observed from 1998 to 2024. During that period, men and women aged 25 to 34 saw their median wages grow by about 5 percentage points faster than for those of aged 45 to 54, partly offsetting the slower wage growth observed from 1981 to 1998.

Gender wage gap fell faster among young full-time employees than among older ones

From 1981 to 2024, average job tenure and educational attainment both rose at faster pace for women than for men. In addition, the representation of women in higher-paying occupations increased. As a result, women experienced faster wage growth than men in all age groups, which led to a narrowing of the gender wage gap.

In 1981, the median hourly wage of women aged 25 to 54 employed full-time represented 75% of the median hourly wage of their male counterparts. By 2024, this gender wage ratio stood at 90%.

From 1981 to 2024, the gender wage gap narrowed to a greater extent among full-time employees aged 25 to 34 than among those aged 45 to 54.

In 2024, women aged 25 to 34 earned a median wage of 96 cents for every dollar earned by men in the same age group, up from 78 cents in 1981. For women aged 45 to 54, the median wage earned in 2024 was 83 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts, up from 71 cents in 1981.

To date, real hourly wages of jobs potentially exposed to artificial intelligence have grown at a similar pace

Recent developments in large language models have raised concerns that AI may affect the task content and wages of a wide variety of jobs, including some jobs held by highly skilled workers.

LFS data indicate that from 2022 to 2024, average real hourly wages in full-time jobs highly exposed to AI grew at a similar pace (ranging from +3% to +4%), regardless of whether they could potentially benefit from AI or be partly replaced by AI.

The long-term wage trends released today are useful for several reasons. They help understand the evolution of Canadians' living standards and poverty rates across decades. They also allow policy makers to quantify the degree of progress made on key socio-economic outcomes such as the gender wage gap or the proportion of Canadians holding low-paid jobs.

When used in conjunction with census data, they help quantify the degree to which revenue changes in the manufacturing industry and the oil and gas extraction industry—two sectors that have been at the center of tariff discussions since the beginning of the year—may affect workers' pay rates in various regions.

Products

The product "Research to Insights: Wages in Canada, 1981 to 2024" is now available as part of A Presentation Series from Statistics Canada About the Economy, Environment and Society (Catalogue number Catalogue number11-631-X).

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).