The B.C. government announced today that in accordance with a commitment made in May 2016, the minimum wage will increase by 50 cents to $11.35 an hour, effective Sept. 15 of this year.

The new rate includes a 20-cent increase based on the B.C. 2016 Consumer Price Index (CPI), plus an additional 30 cents. There will also be an identical increase of 50 cents per hour to the liquor server minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.

The daily rates for live-in home support workers and live-in camp leaders, as well as the monthly rates for resident caretakers and the farm worker piece rates (for harvesters of certain fruits and vegetables) will also increase proportionate to the general minimum hourly wage increases on the same date. More information on these rates will be made public in advance of Sept. 15, a Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training and Responsible for Labour press release said.

The percentage of employees earning minimum wage declined from 7.5% in 2012 to 4.8% in 2016.

The number of B.C. employees earning minimum wage in 2016 was 93,800 out of a total of 1,958,600 paid employees (excluding self-employed).

The national average for people earning minimum wage is 6.9%.

Minimum wages across Canada

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