Saskatchewan Wage Survey

What is the Wage Survey

Why we do it

Who is surveyed

When is the survey done

Available occupations

About the results

Statistical significance

Privacy

What is the Wage Survey

Working with employers, Saskatchewan Labour, the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board and Service Canada have gathered information from 662 provincial employers about wages for 238 occupations.

The wage analysis for these occupations and workplaces provides information on:

• number of employees,

• low and high wages, and

• average wages.

Further breakdowns for each occupation are provided by:

• gender,

• union / non-union, and

• part-time / full-time.

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Why we do it

The Saskatchewan Wage Survey includes a wide variety of employers and occupations.

Wage analysis for different occupations is a valuable planning tool for new and existing businesses, for collective bargaining, for people choosing a career and for school and other counselors advising students and other job seekers.  Such information needs to be updated often to ensure it remains accurate.

Other information for Saskatchewan occupations is available from other surveys and federal census data.  This data includes more occupations than the Saskatchewan Wage Survey, but are updated less frequently.

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Who is surveyed

The Saskatchewan Wage Survey was sent to a random sample of 2,000 employers drawn from the 35,000 Saskatchewan employers subject to The Workers’ Compensation Act.  Random sampling ensures that employers of different sizes and different industries are included.  Random sampling, though, does not allow for targeting of specific occupations.  Hence, the occupations covered in the survey are very much dependent on which employers respond.

Completed surveys were received from 662 employers, or about 30% of those surveyed.  A 30% return rate is considered average for this type of survey.

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When is the survey done

Current plans are to conduct the Saskatchewan Wage Survey every two years.  When surveys are received, Saskatchewan Labour staff answer employer questions, validate and enter the information received, and complete the wage analysis.  Results are posted on this website as soon as possible after the data is compiled.

The 2004 Wage Survey provides wage information based on the last normal pay period before October 1, 2004.

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Available occupations

Employers participating in the Saskatchewan Wage Survey classified jobs according to standard definitions in the National Occupational Classification.  The 2004 Wage Survey provides information on about 240 of these occupations.

When wage information from multiple occupations is shown, the occupations appear in alphabetical order in the report organized alphabetically, and in National Occupational Classification (NOC) order in the report organized by NOC listing.

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About the results

The Saskatchewan Wage Survey results show hourly wages for each occupation with monthly, bi-weekly or other payment forms converted to hourly rates.  Employers reported the total wage paid (including commissions) for the last pay period before October 1, 2004.

Saskatchewan Wage Survey results for each job include:

• the number of employees in an occupation for which wages were reported

• the average (mean) wage for employees doing that job

• the lowest wage for employees doing the job

• the highest wage for employees doing the job

• the lowest wage after the bottom 10% of wages have been eliminated

• the highest wage after the top 10% of wages have been eliminated

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Statistical significance

The Saskatchewan Wage Survey is designed according to accepted methodologies for carrying out statistically accurate surveys that yield valid results.  The statistical significance of each occupation’s wage rate depends on the number of employers and the resulting employees who were surveyed for that occupation.  Generally, the wage rate reported for an occupation that includes a high number of employees surveyed is more statistically significant than one for which a smaller number of employees were surveyed.

For the provincial average (“all employees” category only – statistical significance is less for all other categories) a determination was completed of how reliable the listed wage is (in terms of being a true reflection of what that occupation is paid in Saskatchewan) based on a standard calculation of statistical significance.  The rating for the vast majority of the listed occupations is considered to be very reliable.  For a small number the results were acceptable but not as reliable as for the others. Occupations for which calculated wages fell significantly out of the normal range, and/or for which confidentiality requirements were not met, are not included in the survey.

Further details of the methodology used for the wage survey are available on request.

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Privacy

Survey results are screened to protect the privacy and confidentiality of information from individual employers.  To be included in the Wage Survey Results, the following conditions must all be met:

1.     Enough different employers must report wages for an occupation so that it is not possible to identify individual employers taking part in the survey;

2.     No employer surveyed can employ more than 75% of the total employees in a particular occupation; and

3.     No two employers, combined, can employ more than 90% of the total employees in an occupation.

Blank areas in the Wage Survey Results show areas for which privacy concerns could not be adequately addressed or where there were no reported wages for a specific occupation.

Details on the Government of Saskatchewan’s privacy policy can be found at www.gov.sk.ca/privacy/.

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