Canadians holding down full-time jobs away from farms in this country saw their wages pretty much standing still in May, according to figures released Thursday morning by Statistics Canada.
The agency said average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $972.41 in May, virtually unchanged from April but up 2.0% from 12 months earlier.
The agency went on to say that, 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 32.7 hours per week in May, up from 32.6 hours the previous month but down from 32.8 hours in May 2016.
In the 12 months leading up to May, StatsCan said average weekly earnings rose in seven of the 10 largest industrial sectors, led by professional, scientific and technical services. Earnings declined in retail trade and were little changed in manufacturing and construction.
Breaking things down by professions, the agency said, average weekly earnings in professional, scientific and technical services rose 4.9% to $1,351. Earnings growth was driven by gains in computer systems design and related services; and architectural, engineering and related services. Gains were widespread across the provinces, most notably in Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario. Part of the increase was also due to earnings in this sector being at a relatively low point in May 2016.
In administrative and support services, average weekly earnings grew 4.0% to $813.00, with growth spread across most industries. The largest increases were in British Columbia and Ontario.
