Alberta weekly earnings up in June
Posted Aug 25, 2011 11:32 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Average weekly earnings in Alberta were the highest in the country for the month of june, among all the provinces citing an increase of five percent from June 2010.
Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees hit $1,041.45 in the province compared to average earnings of $876.27 across the country.
The cost of living in Alberta is greater than it is in other provinces, which is reflected in the higher earnings, but as Todd Hirsch, Senior Economist with ATB Financial explains, the province continues to out-do the rest of Canada.
“Wages and earnings are far out-pacing average consumer price inflation,” said Hirsch.
“So, even though consumer prices are higher in Alberta, wages are rising at a faster pace than consumer prices which means Albertans are getting ahead year over year.”
While it’s good news for employees, it’s a challenge for employers, as a lot of business have to offer higher earnings and higher wages just to attract workers.
Hirsch says, some business retail sales aren’t always rising by the same amount.
“There’s good an bad to these numbers, and if employers are finding that wages are too high in Alberta, they might decide to set up shop in other provinces. That’s always the challenge with high earnings.”
With a little more cash in your wallet, paying off consumer debt should be your number one priority, especially if it’s consumer oriented debt at a high interest rate.
And while it should be your top priority, Hirsch says, depending on the household, investing some of your extra income is also another option.
“Depending on where the household is at in their stage of life in their retirement plan, they really do want to be talking to an investment advisor to find some places where they could be sticking that money if it’s in investments or another way of investing money.”
Stats Can also reports, since March 2010, Alberta has recorded year-over-year growth in earnings above the national average.
