Canada · data to Sep 2026
Is pay keeping up?
Bad.
Prices are rising faster than pay (-0.8% a year), so most workers are falling behind.
For context: -0.8% is lower than 87% of all 345 figures since 1998.
Pay growth minus inflation
Above zero means pay is rising faster than prices
The strip under the chart shows the verdict each period would get by today's rules:Good OK Bad
See the latest numbers
| Period | Value | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | -0.8% | Bad |
| Aug 2026 | -1.1% | Bad |
| Jul 2026 | -0.2% | Bad |
| Jun 2026 | 0.5% | OK |
| May 2026 | -0.2% | Bad |
| Apr 2026 | 1.7% | Good |
| Mar 2026 | 2.3% | Good |
| Feb 2026 | 2.2% | Good |
| Jan 2026 | 1.0% | Good |
| Dec 2025 | 1.1% | Good |
| Nov 2025 | 1.3% | Good |
| Oct 2025 | 1.4% | Good |
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey average hourly wage, all employees, annual % change (table 14-10-0063), minus CPI annual % change · Series v2132579 minus v41690973 · Latest Sep 2026
How we judged this
What we test: The latest figure (pay growth minus inflation). Right now that's -0.8%.
- Good if 1.0% or more
- OK if from 0.0% to under 1.0%
- Bad if anything the rules above don’t coverapplies now
Rules are checked from the top. The first one that fits decides the verdict.
About this data
- Measure
- Pay growth minus inflation
- Latest
- -0.8% (Sep 2026)
- Published
- Monthly, by Statistics Canada
- Verdict counts for
- Equal weight with the others in the overall verdict
The average hourly wage of all employees, from the Labour Force Survey, compared with consumer price inflation.
An average can rise for the wrong reasons. In 2020 lower-paid jobs disappeared first, which pushed the average up even though few people got a raise.