Hourly wages and Consumer Price Index

Wages adjusted for inflation fell for the first time in six years

• In 2003, Canadian employees earned, on average, $18.06 per hour before taxes and other deductions, an amount 2.3% higher than the year before. During this time, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 2.8%. Since the growth in the CPI exceeded the growth in hourly wages (current dollars), real hourly wages (adjusted for CPI growth) fell 0.5%, on average—the first decline since 1997, when wage data were first collected by the Labour Force Survey.
• Men's hourly wages have traditionally been higher than women's. In 2003, female employees earned an average of 82 cents for every dollar earned by men—$16.27 versus $19.78 per hour. This wage gap was down marginally from 2001, when women made 81 cents for every dollar earned by men. Wages have grown faster for women than for men since 2001, slightly decreasing the wage differential between the two sexes.
• Wages also vary by province, a reflection of past and present labour market demand and supply conditions, the type of industry common to the area, regional costs of living and a number of other factors. Average hourly wages in 2003 were highest in British Columbia ($19.03) and Ontario ($18.93) and lowest in the Atlantic provinces ($15.43 or less).

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