Salaries are expected to rise in 2014, but slightly less than this year.Chris Basiaga/Getty Images/iStockphoto
A new survey of employers suggests Canadian salaries will be going up next year, but perhaps not by as much as this year.
The Hay Group survey found Canadian employees can expect a salary boost of 2.6 per cent in 2014, down from this year's projection of 2.9 per cent.
As has been the case recently, the clear divide in salary growth expectations is location, with resource-rich provinces coming in at between 3.2 and 4.0 per cent, while the rest range from 2.1 to 2.6 per cent.
Salaries are expected to rise by four per cent in Newfoundland next year, 3.4 per cent in Saskatchewan and 3.2 per cent in Alberta.
At the other end of the scale, salary increases in the Maritimes are expected to average only 2.1 per cent next year, with Ontario and Quebec near the national average at 2.5 and 2.6 per cent respectively.
By sectors, the survey finds the biggest gains are expected among employees in the oil and gas, services, credit union and chemical industries.
Overall, the survey results find Canada in the middle of the pack among industrialized countries in terms of salary growth expectations, with Japan at 2.0 per cent and the U.S. and U.K. at 2.8 and 2.9 per cent respectively.
And current salary hike expectations are about one percentage point lower than surveys conducted prior to the 2008-09 recession.
Even so, the projections don't necessarily coincide with reality.
According to Statistics Canada's latest data, average hourly wages rose only 1.8 per cent in the past 12 months, while average weekly earnings – which include changes in hours worked and salaried employees – rose by 2.5 per cent in the past year.
The survey results are based on responses from more than 500 private and public sector employers conducted in June and July.
(The Canadian Press)