Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - May 2010
Despite an economic slowdown due to the recent global recession, workers in Alberta are still earning more than their counterparts in other provinces, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada.
"We do enjoy the highest wages on average of most communities in Canada and that's for a whole host of factors," said Elsbeth Mehrer, Calgary Economic Development�s manager of workforce development. "Part of it was driven by our labour shortage in 2006 and 2007. That certainly saw some wage escalation, and those wages tend to remain sticky at higher levels.�
Mehrer also attributed the high wages to Alberta�s high concentration of energy sector employment, where the companies and workers are generally more prosperous.
The average wage in Alberta has increased to a record $989.77 per week. Workers in the rest of Canada earn on average $843.91 per week.
Despite this good news for the province, economic analysts argue that it�s not all good news in Alberta, as these figures do not take into account unemployment earnings. Alberta�s unemployment rate has still experienced an overall increase in recent months.
However, analysts expect Alberta to remain on top in earnings, due to the structure of its provincial economy based heavily on high-demand natural resources.
Source: Edmonton Journal
