Canadian organizations are planning moderate base salary increases for 2015 in response to Canada’s sluggish economic growth. The average pay increase for non-unionized employees is projected to be 2.9 per cent next year, one percentage point higher than the forecasted inflation rate for 2015, according to The Conference Board of Canada’s Compensation Planning Outlook 2015.
“The good news is that most Canadian organizations are planning salary increases for 2015. However, employers remain cautious about Canada’s economic performance and are opting for the same modest wage increases seen in the past few years,” said Ian Cullwick, vice-president, Leadership and Human Resources Research at The Conference Board of Canada.
Salary increases vary considerably depending on region and industry. Once again, Saskatchewan and Alberta employers will lead the nation with projected average increases of 3.6 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively. The lowest average increases are expected in the Atlantic provinces at 2.3 per cent, followed by Ontario at 2.5 per cent.
“Although more organizations are starting to report challenges recruiting and retaining employees, we’re still not back up to pre-recession levels, when close to three-quarters of organizations experienced difficulty in this area,” said Cullwick.
Sixty-four per cent of organizations say they are experiencing difficulty recruiting and retaining employees this year, up from 58 per cent in the previous year.
This is the 33rd edition of the Compensation Planning Outlook, which summarizes the results of The Conference Board’s annual compensation survey and forecast conducted in June 2014. The findings are based on the responses of 382 organizations across Canada.