2012: Wages for workers in Vancouver rose a bit heading into 2012, with 0.3 percent quarterly wage growth and nearly 1 percent annual wage growth. These slight increases were just enough to take wages above their previous, Q3 2008 peak levels.
2007-2011: Vancouver has proven to be a robust western outpost when you look at its wage trends. Gradual growth for wages in 2007 turned into quicker upward movement in 2008, peaking in Q3 of that year. Some up, but mostly down, movement resulted in a dip in 2009 of about 2 percent. Then, perhaps enjoying the revenues from the 2010 Winter Olympics tourism, Vancouver wages grew a total of 1.1 percent during Q1 and Q2 of that year, suffering a slight drop in Q3 then climbing again in Q4. 2011 was a mostly flat year with a bump of 0.6 percent in Q4 allowing wages in Vancouver to match their highest levels from four years ago.
Methodology for The PayScale Index: Trends in Compensation
The Vancouver Metro Area includes people in Vancouver, BC.; Surrey, BC.; Burnaby, BC.; Richmond, B.C.; Langley, BC.; and the surrounding areas.
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.
