the CanadaVisa Team - 26 August, 2011
This summer, the average weekly earnings for employees were $1,041.45 in Alberta (excluding farm employees). This was an increase of five percent from last June. The average weekly earnings for employees around the country were $876.27.
Alberta’s job market has been one of the strongest in the country. More than 42,000 jobs were created in the province over the spring and summer.
Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary, recently spoke to the Calgary Herald, “The strong earnings figures for Alberta are both good news and bad news. Clearly for employees, higher earnings are welcomed. And at a year-over-year increase of five per cent, earnings are well outpacing June's overall consumer inflation of 2.1 per cent. But the sky-high paycheques pose a challenge for employers in the province, some of which have to offer higher wages in order to attract qualified workers."
The sectors that experienced the highest weekly earnings were in architectural, engineering and related services; management, scientific and technical consulting services; and computer systems design and related services. The second fastest growth in weekly earnings was in retail trades which rose by 3.7 percent.
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