Alberta's average weekly earnings fall 3.7% but still lead the country

Average weekly earnings among Alberta workers dropped 3.7 per cent to $1,108 in Maybut were still the highest in the country, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada.

Alberta's year-over-year decline was the largest of all provinces.

"The decline was driven by sectors such as construction and professional, scientific, and technical services, where both payroll employment and earnings decreased," Statistics Canada said in a release.

"Earnings in the province have been on a downward trend since early2015."

Wages also fell by 1.3 per cent to $1,018 in Newfoundland and Labrador in May. In Saskatchewan, they were down 0.2 per cent to $976.

Every other province saw an increase in weekly earnings, led by New Brunswick's four per cent jump to $882.

Nationwide,average weekly earnings grew by 0.9 per cent to $956.

Fiveof the 10 largest industrial sectors saw increased earnings,according to Statistics Canada,with the biggest gains cominginadministrative and support services,wholesale tradeand retail trade.

The data comes from the federal agency's Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours, which looks at average weekly earningsof non-farm payroll employees bycombininginformation provided by Canada Revenue Agency on roughly one million payroll deductions and a separate payroll survey of about 15,000 establishments.

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