Numbers Prove What Many Could Sense; It’s Harder to Find Good Jobs in Canada
Everybody sensed this. Now we have the statistical evidence.
The number of quality jobs in Canada has been dropping steadily over the past 20 years. This means that some 65% of Canadians earn less than the average hourly wage, according to a study by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (NYSE:CM) (also known as CIBC)—one of Canada’s largest banks. (Source: “Canada sees slow and steady deterioration of job quality over the last two decades: CIBC,” Newswire, November 28, 2016.)
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“In Canada, the proportion of low-paid jobs has increased over the past 20 years,” said study author Benjamin Tal, CIBC’s deputy chief economist. Tal has considered salaries based on unpublished data from the National Institute of Statistics.
The proportion of Canadians with annual incomes below average earnings has increased over the past 20 years, from about 58% to almost 61%. The average current salary is about CA$25.00 per hour. The risk is that there is ever-greater job insecurity, and that may have accounted for the minor increases in personal income, said Tal. (Source: Ibid.)
The most troubling numbers concern Canadians in the prime of their working years. They are the ones between the ages of 25 to 54, either starting families or having to provide for one. Some 53% currently earn less than the average wage. That’s three percent more people enduring that unenviable circumstance, compared to 20 years ago.
The main point suggests that Canada has fallen victim to the same pattern that has afflicted most western economies. To sum up the problem: the number of low-paying jobs is increasing.
Jobs paying between 50%-100% of the average wage—therefore those between CA$12.50-CA$25.00 per hour—have seen the largest increase. This means 6.7 million workers fall into that group.
This suggests that Canada is suffering from a widening income gap, which threatens the foundations of the middle class. The report has also remarked on the disproportional number of part-time jobs. The number of part-time jobs has increased above the Canadian average of the previous decade (18.5%) to 19.5%. (Source: Ibid).
