The number of B.C. job listings including salary information has jumped significantly since the province put new pay transparency legislation into effect, but is not yet at one hundred per cent, a new report suggests.
Job search site Indeed analyzed listings from February of this year and found 76 per cent of them included wage or salary information. That’s a meaningful leap up from Q3 2023, just prior to the Pay Transparency Act rolling out, when the same could be said for just 49 per cent of listings.
The act, which came into effect on Nov. 1, 2023, requires B.C.-based employers to include wage and salary information in any new job postings, as well as release annual pay reports. The move is intended to increase transparency and help ensure people with the same qualifications are being payed the same amount, regardless of gender, race or other factors.
Indeed found certain sectors were more likely than others to have been posting pay information prior to the new legislation. This included employers in health care, construction, driving, cleaning and sanitation, and security.
Typically, Indeed found, jobs that paid by the hour were more likely to detail that than jobs that paid a yearly salary.
So, the greatest changes seen after November 2023 were in job postings made by some higher paying professions, such as engineering, tech and insurance. Even in February of this year, Indeed found those sectors were still behind most others in including pay information, though.
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An Indeed chart details which job sectors saw the largest increase in salary information inclusion in its job postings after the Pay Transparency Act was introduced in B.C. in November 2023. (Credit: Indeed)
In a statement to Black Press Media, the Ministry of Finance’s gender equity office noted that not all job listings made in B.C. are by B.C. employers, and only B.C. employers are required to follow provincial legislation. People who believe a B.C. employer isn’t complying with the act can report it to the Pay Transparency Unit.
Although likely not yet at one hundred per cent, B.C.’s new legislation has put it leagues ahead of the rest of Canada.
While Indeed determined 76 per cent of listings in B.C. included pay information in February, only 49 per cent of those across Canada did the same. It still marks a significant increase for the country, which was at 22 per cent in early 2019.
An Indeed chart shows how the number of B.C. job postings made on its site have risen since the Pay Transparency Act came into effect in November 2023. (Credit: Indeed)
Across both B.C. and Canada, Indeed also reported an opposing trend, in which employers are becoming less likely to post exact pay information. The job site says just 21 per cent of job postings throughout the country included exact pay in early 2024, down from 40 per cent of postings in 2019.
This means employers are posting broad salary ranges instead, which Indeed said allows them to “attract talent, while also maintaining some negotiating flexibility.”
“Posting a less precise salary range may also help soothe potential concerns from existing employees who might be comparing their current pay to what is being advertised,” Indeed added in its report.
Black Press Media asked the Ministry of Finance whether it is concerned that wide salary ranges could allow for continued pay inequity. The ministry said it is watching to see how employers adapt to the new legislation and will introduce a new regulation on pay ranges if it believes it is needed.
Indeed said it has yet to see any broader labour market changes as a result of B.C.’s pay transparency requirement, but that it is monitoring things. Increases in advertised salaries and wages for new hires were recorded in Colorado, U.S. and Slovakia after they introduced similar laws.
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