New Survey: COVID-19 Takes Toll on Wages Increases

• Wages Will Hold Steady - at Best
• Latest Results from The Harris Poll

Uncertainty about the economy stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be taking its toll on wage increases. Compared to 2019, fewer than half of Canadian hiring decision-makers (45%) expect wages to increase in 2020, according to a new survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.

According to the survey, 34% expect no change and 15% expect a decrease in their company's wages. Among those hiring decision-makers who expect wages to increase, the majority say they expect increases will be equivalent to standard cost of living (59%), while fewer report they will be performance based (43%) or market pay rates (28%).

"We haven't seen a decrease in compensation, but we haven't seen a need for these businesses to be more competitive," said Brent Pollington, franchise owner of the Vancouver Express franchise office.

Regarding traditional benefit offerings (e.g., RRSP, medical), 18% of Canadian hiring decision-makers expect their company's benefits to increase this year and two-thirds (67%) expect these to hold consistent from 2019. Only 11% of Canadian hiring decision-makers expect their company's benefit offerings to decrease.

"We've seen almost every employer make changes to their businesses to accommodate the new safety requirements," Pollington said. "Many companies are going above and beyond to accommodate their employees and ensure their safety. The results are higher operating costs, potentially decreased productivity, and with a recession to cope with, the employer is not able to pass these additional costs on to the client."

While wages and benefits are incredibly important for recruiting and retention, Express CEO Bill Stoller says employees often stay at companies for the full employment experience.

"Even when money is tight, employees need to know their efforts are appreciated," he said. "In this unique time, being flexible with schedules and offering other non-traditional benefits in addition to a healthy company culture goes a long way."

Survey Methodology
The survey was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between April 21 and May 6, 2020 among 501 Canadian hiring decision-makers (defined as adults ages 18+ in Canada who are employed full-time or self-employed or have been laid off, furloughed, or given a zero hour schedule in the past 60 days but worked full-time or were self-employed full-time prior, work at companies with more than 1 employee, and have full/significant involvement in hiring decisions at their company). Data were weighted where necessary by company size to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.

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If you would like to arrange for an interview with Brent Pollington, call (604) 638-6980.

About Express Employment Professionals
Express Employment Professionals is in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Providing localized staffing solutions to our community, Express employed 552,000 people across North America in 2019.

The Downtown Vancouver Express office is located at 555 W Hastings St #975, Vancouver, BC V6B 4N6, Canada within the Harbour Centre and serves the all of Vancouver, BC. Local businesses and applicants are encouraged to stop by, visit https://expresspros.com/VancouverDowntownBC/ or call (604) 638-6980.