CHRPs in Alberta earning higher base salary • Number of EI recipients down for fifth month • Tax compliance costs businesses, taxpayers $25 billion: Report • Employment ‘little changed’ in April: StatsCan • Ontario looking into implementation of PRPPs • Highest U.S. salaries for bachelor’s degrees in software, industrial engineering
CHRPs in Alberta earning higher base salary
CALGARY — Holders of the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation have a higher median annual base salary and are more likely to hold management positions, according to a survey by the Human Resources Institute of Alberta (HRIA).
CHRP designation holders have a base salary of $91,800, while non-designation holders reported a base salary of $67,000 — a difference of $24,800 (37 per cent), found the survey of 1,407 HRIA members (with 821 CHRP respondents).
CHRPs are also more likely to hold management positions, as 72 per cent of respondents in a manager, supervisor or lead position hold a CHRP, compared to 75 per cent of directors and 73 per cent of vice-presidents. Regular (non-management employees) are the least likely to hold the designation.
The 2012 median annual base salary for all respondents is $80,834, an increase of $5,629 (7.5 per cent) over the 2011 figure of $75,205. However, the median compensation for men is 17 per cent higher than for women.
The median expected increase in annual base salary for the upcoming year (2013) is three per cent, found the survey.
Number of EI recipients down for fifth month
OTTAWA — The number of people receiving regular employment insurance (EI) benefits continued to trend down for the fifth consecutive month in March, declining slightly by one per cent, or 5,200, to 523,700. Compared with a year earlier, the number of beneficiaries was down 8.1 per cent.
All four Western provinces, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador, had fewer beneficiaries in March, while there was little change in the other provinces.
Tax compliance costs businesses, taxpayers $25 billion: Report
OTTAWA — It cost Canadians between $19.2 billion and $24.8 billion to prepare, file and remit payment for personal income taxes, property taxes, and business taxes in 2011, according to a report from the Fraser Institute.
“By adding up taxpayers’ personal time and effort to file their returns and all expenses associated with accounting and professional fees and appeals, we find a high cost of up to $25 billion, or 1.4 per cent of GDP, for tax compliance in 2011,” said Jason Clemens, Fraser Institute executive vice-president.
The report calculates the 2011 cost to taxpayers for preparing and filing:
•personal income taxes — Between $4.6 billion and $6.7 billion
• business taxes — Between $14.5 billion and $17.8 billion
• property taxes — Between $138.6 million and $246.2 million.
Employment ‘little changed’ in April: StatsCan
OTTAWA — Following a decline the previous month, Canada’s employment was little changed in April and the unemployment rate remained at 7.2 per cent.
The country added 12,500 new jobs in April, according to Statistic Canada’s Labour Force Survey.
Compared with 12 months earlier, employment increased 0.9 per cent or 163,000, all in full-time work. The total number of hours worked rose by 1.5 per cent over the same period.
Provincially, employment grew in Alberta while it fell in Manitoba, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Ontario looking into implementation of PRPPs
TORONTO — In its 2013 Ontario Budget, the Ontario government said it is in consultations to determine how pooled registered pension plans (PRPPs) should be implemented, as a retirement savings option, before introducing legislation. For example, it wants to ensure members are adequately protected and low-cost objectives are met.
“Pension coverage has been declining in recent years and many defined benefit pension plans for private sector employees have been closed to new entrants. Increasingly, there are calls for new, more flexible retirement savings options that would enhance coverage, improve retirement income security and enable plan sponsors to better manage plan costs,” it said.
Highest U.S. salaries for bachelor’s degrees in software, industrial engineering
CINCINNATI — The careers with the highest starting salaries for graduates with a bachelor’s degree in the United States are software engineering ($71,666) (all US), industrial engineering ($62,245), chemical engineering ($57,500), electrical/electronic engineering ($57,145), and computer science ($55,664), according to the Employers Resource Association (ERA).
The lowest starting salaries for graduates with bachelor’s degrees are in liberal arts and sciences ($32,186), communications ($34,209) and biological sciences ($34,250), found the survey of ERA’s members, more than 1,300 companies.
