Oil-Rich Alberta To See Lowest Income Rise Of All Canada In 2018

Oil-rich Alberta is due to see the lowest rise in salaries across the country in 2018, according to the results of a new survey released by the human resources consulting firm Morneau Shepell.

Salaries should rise 2.3 percent next year in Canada overall, up a bit from the 2.2 percent jump forecasted for the ongoing year, but figures for oil-rich Alberta specifically seem stark. The province’s residents should see a only 1.8 percent increase in 2018.

The news is worse for those in the oil, gas or mining sectors. Those workers will see just a 0.8 percent increase in their pay checks next year, with employers proceeding with caution, according to Michel Dube of the consulting firm.

The survey’s results are in contrast to the economic measures published by Statistics Canada back in July.  Statistics Canada had predicted a jump in real gross domestic product by 0.2 percent in May, but the economy grew by 0.6 percent instead.

While salaries in Alberta have gloomy prospects, Canada has added 95 oil and gas rigs year over year, as of August 4, 2017, and adding rigs in 11 of the last 13 weeks.

Two years of low oil prices have hit Alberta’s budget where it hurts. The province’s newest budget banks on barrel prices reaching $68 a pop by next June—a growth rate that futures markets deem largely improbable. At the time of this article’s writing, Brent was trading at $52.67.

Oil from Alberta is the United States’ single largest source of oil. The province’s oil resources are vast, but almost three years of low oil prices have created a C$10.3 billion hole in the state’s budget.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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