Wages and salaries

Alberta Employment and Immigration commissions a detailed wage and salary survey every two years.  The survey provides information on wages and salaries for full-time and part-time employees in Alberta by occupation, geographic area and industry1.  The latest survey was conducted in 2009 and for the first time wage and salary estimates have been prepared for Alberta’s 14 economic regions. 

In 2009, the average hourly wage was $22.12 in the Battle River region2, 9.1% less than the Alberta average of $24.34 per hour. 

The industry in the region with the largest number of reported employees was healthcare and social services, followed by retail trade.  The industry with the highest average wage3 was the oil and gas industry at $30.93 per hour, followed by public administration ($28.37) and construction ($26.58).  The accommodation and food services industry had the lowest average wage at $12.60 per hour. 

The average number of hours worked per week was 35.7 for the region and 37.3 for all of Alberta.  The industry with the most average hours per employee was the construction sector at 42.9 hours, followed by oil and gas at 41.5 hours.    

As the below table clearly indicates, labour shortage issues are not confined to Alberta’s urban core.  The Battle River region had a 3.3% vacancy rate4 in 2009, compared with Alberta’s 3.0%.  Moreover, the region also reported more hiring difficulties5 than Alberta (49% versus 41%).  Sectors with high vacancy rates include wholesale trade (7.5%), retail trade (4.6%), and information, culture and recreation (4.3%).  Hiring difficulties were encountered in wholesale trade (68%), manufacturing (59%), information, culture and recreation (54%), and construction (53%). 

Alberta Wage and Salary Survey 2009, table

1 http://alis.alberta.ca/wageinfo 
2 The number of survey respondents for small regions may be too small to provide accurate overall wage estimates
3 Only industries with more than 100 reported employees were included in the analysis
4 The percentage of total positions in this industry reported as unfilled for over four months
5 Percent of employers with hiring difficulties with

Date Updated:
RDP-2402