Average weekly earnings for payroll employees in Alberta fell in February but remained the highest of any province in Canada.

Statistics Canada reported on Thursday that Alberta earnings dropped 0.6 per cent month over month and 1.2 per cent year over year to $1,140.93.

“Declines in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, as well as construction, contributed the most to the decrease. Year over year, average weekly hours worked across all sectors in Alberta declined by 1.2 per cent. Data from the LFS (Labour Force Survey) for the same time period show that the province’s unemployment rate rose from 6.6 per cent to 7.3 per cent,” said StatsCan.

The federal agency also reported the the number of employees in the province was up 6,400 from the previous month and increased 30,400 from a year ago.

Across Canada, the number of non-farm payroll employees rose by 31,700 from January to February. The largest monthly increases were in retail trade and manufacturing, while there were smaller increases in most other sectors. Small declines were observed in other services (except public administration) and construction.

“In the 12 months to February, the number of payroll employees grew by 404,500 (+2.5 per cent). Employment increased in nearly all sectors, led by health care and social assistance (+73,300 or +3.8 per cent) and retail trade (+53,400 or +2.7 per cent). At the same time, payroll employment declined in the information and cultural industries (-12,000 or -3.5 per cent) and in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (-2,400 or -1.2 per cent),” it said.

Nationally, average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $1,007.40 in February, down 0.3 per cent month-over-month but still 1.1 per cent higher than a year ago.

– Mario Toneguzzi

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