Base pay will jump up by $0.60 per hour
The minimum wage in Prince Edward Island will increase next month.
Starting Oct. 1, the base pay in the province will be $16 per hour, up from the current $15.40 hourly rate.
That will be the second minimum wage increase in the province just in 2024.
In April, the rate increased to $15.40 per hour from $15 per hour.
“The province accepted the annual minimum wage recommendations of the Employment Standards Board,” the PEI government said last year when they announced the two minimum wage improvements for 2024.
The Employment Standards Board reviews minimum wage annually and provides their recommendation to the P.E.I. government.
The federal government, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and all Atlantic Canadian provinces have also announced minimum wage rate adjustments this year.
The minimum wage increase in P.E.I. comes as the number of Canadians who are struggling financially today is bigger than the comparable data recorded when the COVID-19 pandemic was still ongoing, according to a report from Statistics Canada (StatCan).
Overall, 45% of Canadians report that rising prices are greatly affecting their ability to meet day-to-day expenses, 12 percentage points higher than two years earlier (33%).
And pay increase projections continue to decline for the second straight year, according to a recent report. The national average base salary increase for 2025 is projected at 3.6%, excluding planned salary freezes, reports Eckler.
