High-income earners on the rise, census reveals

(March 11, 2003) The number of high-salaried Canadians soared in the 1990s as more workers cashed in on their university education, the latest census reveals. Nearly 450,000 Canadians earned an annual salary of more than $100,000 in 2000, a 70% increase compared to 1990, Statistics Canada reported today.

Among the high-income earners, 61% had a university degree. More than 60% of those in the lowest earnings category did not have more than a high school education.

“The census clearly showed that higher education is a gateway to higher earnings,” StatsCan said.

The average national full-time wage in 2000 was $43,231, a result of higher demand for skilled workers, an aging workforce of baby boomers and more working people with university education, the agency said.

Alberta had the highest growth in those making at least $100,000, although Ontario accounted for 51% of all high earners. High-income earners accounted for 2.7% of all earners in 2000, compared to 1.8% in 1990.

Nearly 400,000 Canadians reported earnings between $80,000 and $100,000 in 2000, a 47% increase from 1990. The number of people making $60,000 to $80,000 a year was up 25%.

The employment income report also reveals a clear gender and generational divide. The majority of the country’s high-income earners, 84%, were university-educated men between age 35 and 54. Still, the number of women earning more than $100,000 more than doubled in the survey period, climbing from 28,800 to 73,600.

“Older groups with higher education and more work experience have made the most significant gains in earnings,” the report concludes.

Male high-income earners were concentrated in a small number of occupations, StatsCan said, including sales/marketing/advertising managers, computer and information systems specialists, data processing managers, technical sales specialists and financial officers. The top categories for women were lawyers and doctors.

At the other end of the wage scale, an estimated 1.5 million full-time workers had average annual earnings of less than $20,000 in 2000, a 5% rise from 1990. The total number of full-time employees rose to 8.6 million, an 11% rise from 1990.

Filed by Doug Watt, Advisor.ca, dwatt@advisor.ca