Today we present you 11 highest paying blue collar jobs in Canada – occupations which refute the stereotype that blue collar industry is reserved for low-skilled workers who are employed in menial jobs for minimum wage. In this ranking, not only that you will find that some blue collars earn as much as $42 per hour but that some occupations are in high demand. Solid earnings, good job prospects and opportunity to advance make many of these jobs appealing to young people who opt for work instead of education.
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Before we present you the ranking, let’s take a quick look at current state of Canadian labor market. According to latest Labor Force Survey, in the last 12 months employment grew by 125,500, which accounted for 0.7 percent increase. The growth was led by the upward trend in health care and social assistance, which recorded employment rise of 4 percent, as well as in professional, scientific and technical services, where there was 2.9 percent gain. On the other side, employment notably declined in agriculture (6.2 percent) and natural resources (3.6 percent), which saw massive layoffs in Alberta after drop down of oil prices. Current oil crisis spills over into other industries, affecting employment in manufacturing and construction, sectors in which greatest percent of listed blue color workers is employed.
Between December 2015 and January 2016 both industries experienced job losses. While there were 11,000 people less working in manufacturing, construction saw a decrease of 5.400 workers. At the same time, employment in manufacturing little changed during last year, although the industry export recorded significant pickups, which was not translated into new job openings. On the other side, construction lost 24,700 employees, or in other words 1.8 percent of its workforce. Thus, while some of the listed blue collar jobs secure comfortable living, the employment outlook is poor.
In creating the ranking of highest paying blue collar jobs in Canada we used Job Bank Canada data on median hourly wage for occupations defined under National Occupational Classification. Jobs that we labeled as “blue collar” are occupations for which educational requirements include secondary and post-secondary degree (less than BA) and which are not performed in an office setting. We did not include managerial positions in this ranking, but if we had, four occupations would have found a place on the list – utility managers ($47), manufacturing managers ($38.41), construction managers (36.06) and transportation managers ($34.62). Finally, if you want to compare how Canadian blue collar workers are doing compared to their neighbors in America, check our previous ranking 11 highest paying blue collar jobs in the US.
