Paul Martin's Business Update - March 4th, 2014

Paul Martin's Business Update - March 4th, 2014

The pace of wage increases was rising as 2013 came to a close.

The monthly tally on average pay packets in the province for December show that non-farm workers saw their incomes rise by roughly four per cent last year. That is the third highest in the country, behind the nation’s other oil producers Alberta and Newfoundland.

What’s interesting, though, is that the jump from November to December was a full percentage point. That is significantly higher than the total for the year, if it were to be annualized.

The average pay package in December was $965 and has been steadily rising. At this pace we should cross through the $1,000 figure sometime this year. At this point, only Alberta has surpassed that threshold.

All of this points to continued strength in the consumer segment of the economy. Consumers drive the majority of economic growth so when they have money, their spending triggers overall expansion of the economy. Since pay increases have outpaced the nominal inflation rate, it means workers are seeing ‘real’ gains in disposable income levels.

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