P.E.I. wages down in 2018

Average weekly wages on P.E.I., already the lowest in country, are down since the beginning of the year.

In a report released Thursday, Statistics Canada listed the average weekly wage on P.E.I., including overtime, at $832.41 in July, down from $836.25 in January.

That is a significant recovery from June, when the average wage was $818.

Statistics Canada said wages in manufacturing and administration were up, but that was offset by losses in education and in hospitality industries.

Island wages went on a bit of a run at the end of 2017, rising from $817.33 in September to $844.50 in February before going into decline.

'A positive trend'

The P.E.I. government saw the numbers a different way.

Senior communications officer Hillary MacDonald in an email to CBC News, noted for the year to date wages in 2018 are higher than they were last year.

While the numbers are seasonally adjusted, MacDonald said, summer wages have still shown a decrease on the Island.

"A drop in average weekly earnings in the summer is not unusual given the nature of summer employment," she said.

"This happened in 2017 as well."

For the year to date, wages are up 2.1 per cent.

• Jan.-July 2017: $817.34
• Jan.-July 2018: $834.68

The province also noted that agricultural wages, not included in this report, are up considerably.

Nationally the average wage was $996.66, up 0.4 per cent for the year.

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