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 $24.31 in the Capital region2, almost the same as the Alberta average of $24.34 per hour. 

The industry in the region with the largest number of reported employees was public administration (federal, provincial and municipal government), followed by healthcare and social services, and manufacturing.  The industry with the highest average wage was the utilities industry at $35.75 per hour, followed by scientific, technical and professional services (mostly engineering) at $33.66.  The accommodation and food services industry had the lowest average wage at $11.68 per hour.

The average number of hours worked per week was 37.1 for the region and 37.3 for all of Alberta.  The industry with the most average hours per employee was the transportation and warehousing sector at 42.8 hours.    

The Capital region’s labour shortage problems were slightly less acute than those for all of Alberta.  The Capital region had a 2.8% vacancy rate3 in 2009, compared with Alberta’s 3.0%.  Moreover, the region also reported fewer hiring difficulties4 than Alberta (39% versus 41%).  Labour shortages were the most acute in accommodation and food services.

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 The percentage of total positions in this industry reported as unfilled for over four months
4 Percent of employers with hiring difficulties with

Date Updated:
RDP-2404