Statistics Canada recently published data for job vacancies, payroll employees, job vacancy rate, and average offered hourly wages. The new data is for the first quarter of 2023, which was January through March.
I thought I’d take a look at how the average hourly wages in Alberta compared to those offered in other provinces.
The average offered hourly wage is what employers are offering for vacant positions. It excludes overtime, tips, commissions, and bonuses.
Statistics Canada converts the salaries to hourly wages based on information regarding pay frequency and the expected average number of hours worked per week. The offered wage may be different from the actual wage paid once the position is filled.
Here is what the average offered hourly wage looked like for each province in the first quarter of this year.
| BC | $26.50 |
| ON | $26.15 |
| AB | $25.60 |
| QC | $24.65 |
| NL | $24.40 |
| SK | $23.40 |
| NS | $22.75 |
| NB | $22.40 |
| PEI | $22.25 |
| MB | $22.25 |
As you can see, on average, employers in BC offered the highest wages in their job postings, at $26.50 an hour. Ontario was right behind them in second place at $26.15, followed by Alberta employers in third place at $25.60.
Now, let’s compare wages to the previous quarter, the end of 2022.
| Q4 2022 | Q1 2023 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NL | $22.60 | $24.40 | $1.80 |
| NB | $20.75 | $22.40 | $1.65 |
| PEI | $20.70 | $22.25 | $1.55 |
| SK | $22.10 | $23.40 | $1.30 |
| NS | $21.85 | $22.75 | $0.90 |
| QC | $24.00 | $24.65 | $0.65 |
| ON | $25.55 | $26.15 | $0.60 |
| MB | $21.95 | $22.25 | $0.30 |
| AB | $25.35 | $25.60 | $0.25 |
| BC | $26.55 | $26.50 | -$0.05 |
Same thing: BC in first ($26.55), followed by Ontario ($25.55) and Alberta ($25.35).
Alberta also saw the lowest increase in the average offered hourly wage during between these two quarters, increasing by just 25¢ an hour. However, that wasn’t enough to land them in last place, since BC wages actually dropped by a nickel.
Newfoundland and Labrador employers jacked up their average offered wages the most, rising by $1.80 an hour between the final quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023.
Now, let’s compare the two most recent first quarters.
| Q1 2022 | Q1 2023 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NL | $21.45 | $24.40 | $2.95 |
| PEI | $19.90 | $22.25 | $2.35 |
| NB | $20.45 | $22.40 | $1.95 |
| NS | $20.90 | $22.75 | $1.85 |
| BC | $25.00 | $26.50 | $1.50 |
| QC | $23.15 | $24.65 | $1.50 |
| SK | $22.15 | $23.40 | $1.25 |
| ON | $25.10 | $26.15 | $1.05 |
| MB | $21.60 | $22.25 | $0.65 |
| AB | $25.00 | $25.60 | $0.60 |
A year ago, Alberta had the second highest average offered hourly wages at $25, but they were tied with BC. Ontario led the pack at $25.10 an hour.
Over the last year, Alberta’s employers have increased how much they offered potential new workers by only 60¢ an hour, the smallest increase in the country.
Compare that to Newfoundland and Labrador, where employers increased offered wages by nearly $3 an hour, roughly 5 times the increase that we saw in Alberta.
Here’s how things looked compared to the first quarter of 2021, two year prior.
| Q1 2021 | Q1 2023 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEI | $18.60 | $22.25 | $3.65 |
| NL | $20.95 | $24.40 | $3.45 |
| QC | $22.20 | $24.65 | $2.45 |
| NB | $20.05 | $22.40 | $2.35 |
| NS | $20.70 | $22.75 | $2.05 |
| BC | $24.55 | $26.50 | $1.95 |
| AB | $24.05 | $25.60 | $1.55 |
| ON | $24.75 | $26.15 | $1.40 |
| SK | $22.10 | $23.40 | $1.30 |
| MB | $21.25 | $22.25 | $1.00 |
Alberta is back down to third place for average offered hourly wage two years ago, at $24.05, behind Ontario (which was at $24.75) and BC (which was at $24.55).
However, Alberta’s increase during the last two years wasn’t as bad as over just this past year, coming in at fourth from last.
Prince Edward Island employers increased their average offered hourly page by $3.65, the highest increase in the country and $2.10 higher than what Alberta employers increased theirs by.
On to three years.
| Q1 2020 | Q1 2023 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEI | $17.30 | $22.25 | $4.95 |
| NB | $18.20 | $22.40 | $4.20 |
| NS | $18.95 | $22.75 | $3.80 |
| BC | $22.85 | $26.50 | $3.65 |
| NL | $21.00 | $24.40 | $3.40 |
| QC | $21.30 | $24.65 | $3.35 |
| ON | $23.55 | $26.15 | $2.60 |
| MB | $20.15 | $22.25 | $2.10 |
| SK | $21.40 | $23.40 | $2.00 |
| AB | $24.75 | $25.60 | $0.85 |
Three years ago, Alberta employers were offering the highest hourly wage, on average, than those in any other province.
However, we saw the smallest increase since the first quarter of 2020, amongst all the provinces. We were the only province to see an increase of under $1 an hour.
In fact, employers in every other province increased their average offered wage by $2 an hour or more. PEI employers increased their offered wages by almost $5 an hour.
Finally, here is how Alberta performed, relative to the other provinces, since the first quarter of 2019, the last first quarter under the NDP government.
| Q1 2019 | Q1 2023 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEI | $15.75 | $22.25 | $6.50 |
| BC | $21.45 | $26.50 | $5.05 |
| NB | $17.75 | $22.40 | $4.65 |
| QC | $20.55 | $24.65 | $4.10 |
| ON | $22.55 | $26.15 | $3.60 |
| NS | $19.65 | $22.75 | $3.10 |
| NL | $22.05 | $24.40 | $2.35 |
| MB | $20.20 | $22.25 | $2.05 |
| SK | $21.55 | $23.40 | $1.85 |
| AB | $24.30 | $25.60 | $1.30 |
Once again, Alberta was in the top spot four years ago, the only province where the average employer offered an hourly wage that was higher than $24 an hour. In fact, every other province was under $23 an hour.
However, Alberta had the smallest increase since then, increasing by only $1.30 an hour, on average. The next smallest increase in average offered wages was seen in Saskatchewan, which was $1.85 an hour.
PEI employers, on the other hand saw the largest increase in offered wages, rising by an average of $6.50 an hour.
