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Line graphs comparing inflation to wages in the US and Canada.
Graphic Truth: Canada is winning the real wage war
But north of the border, it’s been a different story in the last few years, as Canadian wages have started to outpace inflation — helped, in part, by Ottawa’s decision to reestablish a federal minimum wage and index it to price growth. That hourly wage currently stands at $17.75. The US federal minimum wage, meanwhile, has been stuck at $7.25 per hour since 2009, though some states have set wages higher than that.
With Canada’s unemployment at 6.7%, the country’s labor market is far from perfect, but the recent real-wage growth there is bound to make some of its southern neighbors envious. These charts take a look at the recent relationship between nominal wages and inflation in both the US and Canada.