If you think you deserve a raise at work, you’re not alone.
According to a new survey by job website Indeed Canada, most Canadians are unhappy with their salaries and more than half of people polled said they plan to ask for a raise in 2019.
The survey, conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Indeed Canada, found that only 13% of Canadian workers surveyed are comfortable with their current rate of pay. That's down from 17% one year ago. The decline in salary satisfaction will prompt 53% of respondents to ask for more money this year, the survey found.
Specifically, the survey found that most Canadians would like to earn, on average, $12,000 more per year. Millennials were more likely to want a raise, with 58% of those age 25 to 34 saying they plan to ask for a pay increase in 2019.
The online survey of 1,000 randomly selected employed Canadians was conducted between January 8 and January 16 of this year. Canada is in a period of record-low unemployment. Although there are still some sectors and regions where it can be challenging to find work, the jobless rate hit a 40-year low of 5.6% in November and has continued to fall in recent months.
The research found that men are more likely to ask for bigger raises than women. Of those who plan to ask for a raise, 44% of male respondents said they'd ask for an increase of between 6% and 10% while only 35% of women will ask for that much. Most women who want a raise — 59% — said they would ask for no more than 5%.
Canada added 56,000 jobs last month, blowing past expectations. Statistics Canada released its latest job numbers on Friday, showing that the Canadian economy added another 56,000 jobs in February, far outperforming expectations of economists. Paired with growth in January, the numbers represent the highest-growth two-month period in the labour market since 2012 — although most of those new jobs were created in Ontario.
