Two living wages for Edmonton – which is it?
The Living Wage for Edmonton is $18.10, which is based on a family of four. The extra calculation for a single individual is for information purposes only
Over the past week, we’ve had questions about what Edmonton’s living wage is. The Edmonton Social Planning Council (ESPC) released a new living wage for a single adult, which was different than the calculation we released in November.
So, which is it? The answer is $18.10 per hour which is based on the income needs of a two-parent family with two young children. The reason the ESPC did an extra calculation was because single adults with no children needed higher income to cover their expenses than an income earner in a family of four in almost all municipalities this year.
The network made the call that a family of four should be used for this year’s living wages, because it ensures consistency with the Canadian Living Wage Framework. However, this year the Ontario Living Wage Network changed their methodology because of this issue and we also think the methodology needs changes.
We calculated living wages for single adults for two municipalities as part of our launch in November and Edmonton released theirs last week. Over the next few months, we will complete single adult calculations for the remaining municipalities.
We continue to work with other provinces and Living Wage Canada to determine the best approach for a standard methodology. We’ll keep you updated as we work through these issues. In the meantime, if you’re curious how much a single adult needs to earn to cover their exenses in your community, email coordinator@livingwagealberta.ca.
Resources
If you’re wondering what your municipality’s living wage is, they are listed on What is a living wage.
Blog: A standard methodology for calculating living wages in the province