The PayScale Index (Canada) follows the change in wages of employed Canadian workers, revealing trends in compensation over time. It specifically measures the quarterly change in the total cash compensation of full-time, private industry employees nationally, with additional detail on the six largest metropolitan areas.
2012: After about two years of solid, upward movement, earnings for Canadians were essentially flat in Q1 2012. However, due to gains made in previous years, wages still ended the quarter up 1.7 percent above their Q3 2008 peak.
2007-2011: Before the recession hit in late 2008, wages were growing in Canada at a healthy rate of 3 to 4 percent year-over-year in 2007 and 2008. When wages finally tumbled in 2009, they did so for a brief three quarters, and only fell about 1 percent. As the recession began to ease up at the end of 2009, earnings for Canadian workers recovered swiftly. Canadian workers’ incomes showed significant improvement throughout 2010. Then, an impressive leap of 0.6 percent in Q4 2011 brought wages up 1.3 percent year-over-year and nearly 3 percent above their recession-era lows.
Methodology for The PayScale Index: Trends in Compensation
The PayScale Index tracks quarterly changes in total cash compensation for full-time, private industry employees. It uses 2006 average total cash compensation as a baseline.
