Little change in average weekly earnings in December: StatsCan; Unemployment rate rises to 6.8 per cent in February: StatsCan; Job quality in Canada hits record low: CIBC; Survey finds more vacation days a popular benefit
Little change in average weekly earnings in December: StatsCan
OTTAWA — Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $943 in December, up from $936.67 in November, statistics Canada reports. The government revised the November numbers from the previously reported $941. On a year-over-year basis, weekly earnings increased two per cent in December.
The increase in weekly earnings during the 12 months to December reflected a number of factors, including wage growth, changes in the composition of employment by industry, occupation and level of job experience, as well as average hours worked per week. Non-farm payroll employees worked an average of 32.9 hours a week in December, down slightly from an average of 33 hours 12 months earlier.
Year-over-year earnings of non-farm payroll employees increased in all provinces, with the biggest growth in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan. The smallest growth occurred in Manitoba and Ontario.
Unemployment rate rises to 6.8 per cent in February: StatsCan
OTTAWA — Canada’s economy lost 1,000 jobs in February, raising the unemployment rate to 6.8 per cent from 6.6 per cent in February, Statistics Canada reports.
The economy added 34,000 full-time jobs in February, but lost close to 35,000 part-time jobs. Industries where employment decreased included natural resources, manufacturing, and information, culture and recreation. Employment was up in industries such as construction and educational services.
On a provincial basis, Newfoundland and Labrador continued to have the highest unemployment rate at 12.6 per cent, up from 11.4 per cent in the previous month. Saskatchewan and Alberta had the lowest unemployment rates at five per cent and 5.3 per cent, respectively, but the rates were up from January when they were 4.5 per cent in both provinces.
The unemployment rate was also up in British Columbia (six per cent), New Brunswick (10.4 per cent) and Nova Scotia (9.1 per cent). It was down in Manitoba (5.6 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (10.1 per cent). It was unchanged in Ontario (6.9 per cent) and Quebec (7.4 per cent).
In the United States, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the American economy added 295,000 jobs in February, lowering the unemployment rate from 5.7 per cent to 5.5 per cent.
B.C. budget proposes payroll-related tax changes
VICTORIA — The 2015 British Columbia budget, which Finance Minister Michael de Jong released on Feb. 17, did not include changes to personal income tax rates or brackets, but did propose other payroll-related tax adjustments.
The budget proposes to enhance the province’s tax reduction credit, which applies to individuals who have a net income below a certain amount. The government proposes to increase the tax reduction credit from $412 to $432. The threshold at which the credit is phased out would rise from $18,327 to $19,000 and the phase-out rate would increase from 3.2 per cent of net income to 3.5 per cent. The changes would be retroactive to Jan. 1. De Jong also announced that the province plans to increase premium rates for the Medical Services Plan next year. As of Jan. 1, 2016, premiums for a single person would rise from $72 per month to $75. The maximum premium for a family of two would increase from $130.50 per month to $136 and for a family of three or more, it would increase from $144 per month to $150.
Budget documents reiterated a previous government announcement that it would extend the provincial training tax credit program for an extra three years, to the end of 2017. The training tax credit is for employers and apprentices who take part in eligible apprenticeship programs.
The extension would also apply to an enhanced credit that provides an extra 50 per cent for First Nations, people with disabilities and their employers.
No payroll-related tax changes in N.W.T. budget
YELLOWKNIFE — The 2015-2016 Northwest Territories budget, which Finance Minister J. Michael Miltenberger released on Feb. 5, did not contain any payroll-related tax changes.
No payroll-related tax changes in Nunavut budget
IQALUIT — The 2015-2016 Nunavut budget, which Finance Minister Keith Peterson presented on Feb. 25, did not contain any payroll-related tax changes.
Payroll salary survey looks at recruitment and retention issues
TORONTO — Almost three-quarters of employers say they have difficulty finding the ideal candidate for payroll, says a new salary survey by Hays Canada.
The results are in the staffing company’s second annual payroll salary guide, which provides insights into payroll recruitment, retention and compensation trends in Canada. The survey, done in collaboration with the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA), included the polling of more than 2,000 Canadian payroll professionals.
It found that 73 per cent of employers said they experienced moderate to extreme levels of difficulty finding the right payroll candidate. The top challenges cited were personality fit, credentials, specific system knowledge and compliance knowledge.
When it comes to retaining payroll staff, the top challenges employers cited in the survey were salary levels, career progression and a competitive market for top candidates. In addition, 80 per cent of payroll employers said they did not have a succession plan in place.
The survey found that 80 per cent of employers plan to increase payroll salaries this year, with more than one-third expecting the increase to be more than three per cent; however, only 48 per cent of employers said they thought their compensation package was competitive with the market rate. Thirty per cent said it was not competitive and 22 per cent were unsure.
The survey found that the typical annual national average compensation for payroll professionals ranged from $40,000 to $90,000, depending on job title, years of experience, province of employment and payroll certification. The survey found that those with a Payroll Compliance Practitioner or Certified Payroll Manager certificate from The Canadian Payroll Association earned up to 20 per cent more than those who were not certified.
Job quality in Canada hits record low: CIBC
TORONTO — Job quality in Canada is at a record low and there are few signs it will reverse in the near future, finds the CIBC’s latest Canadian Employment Quality Index (EQI).
The EQI measures the distribution of part-time versus full-time jobs, self-employment versus paid employment and the compensation ranking of full-time paid employment jobs in more than 100 industry groups.
The latest data shows declines in all measures and indicates the drop in job quality is more structural than cyclical and likely cannot be turned around by monetary policy, says Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist of CIBC World Markets and author of the index.
He says that since the late 1980s, the number of part-time jobs has risen much faster than the number of full-time jobs, which is often viewed as the most important measure of job quality.
"The damage caused to full-time employment during each recession was, in many ways, permanent. That is, full-time job creation was unable to accelerate fast enough during the recovery to recover lost ground. The good news is that for the past year, the number of full-time jobs rose twice as fast as the number of part-time jobs — a factor that worked to offset some of the recent softening in our index," says Tal.
The index shows a similar trend in the ratio of paid-employment to self-employment, with the number of self-employed Canadians growing four times faster than the number of paid employees in the last year. The index rates self-employment to be of lower quality because, on average, it pays less than salaried positions.
When it comes to the compensation ranking of full-time paid employment jobs in more than 100 industry groups, the index also finds concerns, says Tal.
"The number of low-paying full-time jobs has risen faster than the number of mid-paying jobs, which in turn, has risen faster than the number of high-paying jobs," he says.
"Over the year ending January 2015, the job creation gap between low- and high-paying jobs has widened with the number of low-paying full-time paid positions rising twice as fast as the number of high-paying jobs. Those trajectories are largely behind the softening in our measure of employment quality over the past two decades."
Survey finds more vacation days a popular benefit
MENLO PARK, Calif. — Two recent surveys suggest many executives may be undervaluing a job perk that their workers most want besides more money — more vacation days.
The surveys, developed by staffing firm Accountemps and carried out by an independent research firm, asked CFOs and employees which job perk, other than additional compensation, the employees would be most interested in receiving this year.
More than 2,100 CFOs responded to the survey of executives and over 320 employees responded to the survey of adult office workers.
Forty-one per cent of the CFOs said employees chiefly want better benefits (such as improvements to the health-care plan), 19 per cent said more vacation days, 15 per cent said more flexibility in scheduling and 12 per cent cited more training and professional development. The rest mentioned other perks or did not know.
When it came to the employees, 30 per cent cited more vacation days as their top wish, 26 per cent would like better benefits, 19 per cent want more flexibility in scheduling and 15 per cent want more training and professional development. The rest mentioned other perks.
Although the surveys reveal that executives may be underestimating the value of time away from work, Bill Driscoll, a district president with Accountemps, says the results show a possible silver lining for employers.
"Changing a company’s benefits package can be a lengthy, challenging and expensive process; re-evaluating the vacation policy is fairly straightforward in comparison," he said.
