Manufacturing salaries drop in Canada and the U.S.: Report

After three straight quarters of rapidly rising wages across almost every industry, job category and company size, the first quarter of 2013 brought the first wage decreases since early 2011, according to an new study of The Pay Scale Index.

According to the index, which examines wages in the U.S. and Canada, wage decreases in the manufacturing industry and job category reflect other economic reports.

Information released by the Institute for Supply Management, which tracks manufacturing activity, found that the manufacturing sector’s expansion slowed in March.

This matches The Pay Scale Index’s findings that wages decreased by almost 1.0 per cent for the job category and 0.4 per cent for the industry overall in Q1 2013.

However, the study also found that decreases were minor and wages are still up year-over-year across the board.

Other industries also saw wage decreases, according to the report.

“Building upon the current political and economic climate, this quarter was a bump in the road to recovery, as wages fell in previously high-performing areas including IT, Biotech, and Oil & Gas Exploration. It remains to be seen if this quarterly drop is a blip on the radar, or a long-term trend,” said Katie Bardaro, lead economist, PayScale, in a statement.