Wages are rising faster than inflation in more than half of the occupations tracked by Statistics Canada, raising the possibility of higher interest rates in the short term to cool an overheated economy.

While inflation was 4.7% in November, the average salary offered in Canada rose 9.9% for nurse assistants and nurse practitioners in the third quarter.

For their part, workers in the construction sector enjoyed a 13.2% increase in one year, while retail salespeople saw their average wages rise by 8.9%. Chefs were offered 8.7% more than the previous year.

So these professionals got enough raises to offset the increase in the cost of living.

manpower shortage

These wage increases are fueled by a historical labor shortage.

The total number of job vacancies reached an all-time high in the third quarter of 2021: 912,600 jobs were not found, or 349,700 more than in the same period in 2019, before the pandemic.

The problem is growing most quickly in Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan, Statistical Canada reports.

Across the country, five sectors are particularly affected: accommodation and food services, health care and social assistance, construction, retail, and manufacturing.

inflation

The Governor of the Bank of Canada, Teff McClem, has emphasized more than once that employment data plays a major role in his management of the key rate, which is currently as low as 0.25%.

In October, McClem set attention to wage increases that, if generalized, risk rising inflation as companies raise prices to pay their workers more.