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 $19.81 in the South Central region², 18.6% 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, public administration and manufacturing.  Of the below listed industries, the industry with the highest average wage was public administration at $29.01.  Although estimates for the oil and gas industry are not as reliable as for the industries in the table, wage and salary estimates suggest that it is the industry with the highest average wage. The accommodation and food services industry had the lowest average wage at $10.78 per hour.

The average number of hours worked per week was 37.2 for the region and 37.3 for all of Alberta.  The industry with the most average hours per employee was the agricultural sector at 46.7 hours.    

Labour shortage issues are not confined to Alberta’s urban core.  The South Central region had a 3.3% vacancy rate³ in 2009, compared with Alberta’s 3.0%.  Moreover, the region also reported more hiring difficulties⁴ than Alberta (51% versus 41%).  Labour shortages were particularly acute in agriculture, accommodation and food services, and construction. 

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-2412