COVID-19 may lead to salary freezes this winter.
Human resources consulting firm Morneau Shepell said 13 per cent of the 889 organizations it monitors said they plan to freeze salaries in 2021.
That’s far more than last year’s pre-COVID survey, which incorrectly predicted only two per cent of organizations would freeze salaries this year.
Morneau Shepell later determined that 36 per cent of organizations actually froze their salaries in 2020 because of the pandemic’s economic impact.
The firm estimated the 2020 weighted national average salary increase will be about 1.6 per cent including freezes.
That number is down from a 2.4 per cent average increase in 2019 and the first time since 2008 that the increase was below 2.0 per cent.
It said Alberta has been hardest hit this year, with average base salaries up only 1.4 per cent if it included salary freezes.
Morneau Shepell added the province expects to lag behind other parts of the country again in 2021.
Vice-President Anand Parsan said 16 per cent of employers in Alberta expect more salary freezes than any other province due to a dramatic decline in commodity prices.
“This year’s results are some of the most concerning that we’ve seen since the survey’s inception in 1982. With 46 per cent of employers reporting uncertainty going into 2021, it’s important that Canadians recognize the impact on their financial wellbeing as we expect another challenging year.”
On a national scale, the projected 2021 salary increase including salary freezes is 1.9 per cent, while Alberta’s increase projected to be 1.7 per cent.
COVID-19 response
Alberta reported four new cases and 10 recoveries of COVID-19 in the RMWB in the last 24 hours.
All new cases and nine recoveries occurred in Fort McMurray, which has 48 active cases, one death, and 214 recovered cases of the illness.
Outside the urban service area, there are still four active cases and 63 recoveries of COVID-19.
47 schools in Alberta reported outbreaks of COVID-19, including seven that made the province’s watch list.
This article includes excerpts from The Canadian Press.
