Saskatchewan passes Ontario in wages

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is urging Ontarians to head West for some higher paying jobs in his province. (Nov. 7, 2011)

Liam Richards/THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO

Robert Benzie Queen's Park Bureau Chief

 

The bad news for Ontarians is that people in Saskatchewan now earn more money than they do.
The good news is Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is urging Ontario residents to go West for some of those higher-paying jobs.
“The Riders aren’t in the Grey Cup so we are celebrating other things, including weekly earnings,” Wall, an avid Saskatchewan Roughriders fans, told the Star on Thursday.
According to new Statistics Canada data, Saskatchewan now has the second-highest average wage in the country after Alberta — and has surpassed Ontario for the first time ever.
Average weekly earnings in the prairie province were $906.22 in September, up 6.9 per cent from the same time last year.
In contrast, Ontario wages dropped 1.3 per cent compared with September 2010 — to $889.13 from $901.16. The national average declined 0.3 per cent to $872.75 a week in September.
Wall, recently re-elected with an increased majority, stressed that “the credit should go to employers” and that his government just tries to stay out of the business community’s way, helping out by attracting newcomers to the fast-growing province.
“This morning there were about 10,000 jobs on that website we talk about, saskjobs.ca