A new report reveals how much Metro Vancouverites need to earn to afford basic expenses in 2021.
On Tuesday (Nov. 2) the CCPA-BC and Living Wage for Families BC released the 2021 living wages for Metro Vancouver and 13 communities and regions across B.C.
This year, the living wage for people living in Metro Vancouver is $20.52 per hour, a $1.02 per hour (or 5.2 per cent) increase over 2019. Report authors note that no calculation was made in 2020 due to the unprecedented disruptions to employment patterns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
At $20.52, Metro Vancouver’s living wage is much higher than B.C.’s $15.20 minimum wage. The trend is seen across the province, where the living wage in all communities for which it is calculated is higher than B.C.’s minimum wage.
"The living wage is calculated as the hourly amount that each of two working parents with two young children must earn to meet their basic expenses (including rent, child care, food and transportation) once government taxes, credits, deductions and subsidies are taken into account," explains the report.
Across the province, the highest monthly increases were the cost of shelter and telecommunications. In Metro Vancouver, the cost of housing rose 8.6 per cent, making it the most expensive item in a Metro Vancouver family budget.
But the report also shows that recent government investments in child care and other policy measures, such as the new BC Child Opportunity Benefit and elimination of MSP premiums, have helped to prevent a greater increase in the living wage.
B.C.’s child poverty rate is above the national average, at 18.5 per cent. The report research shows the families hardest hit are headed by already marginalized earners, including single mothers, Indigenous people and recent immigrants.
In addition to Metro Vancouver, 13 B.C. communities are releasing their 2021 living wage calculations.
- Columbia Valley $17.18
- Greater Victoria $20.46
- Nelson $19.56
- Comox Valley $16.44
Penticton $18.55 Kelowna $18.49 Revelstoke $19.51 Fraser Valley $16.75 Sunshine Coast $19.79 Golden $19.46 Nanaimo $16.33 Trail $18.15 Grand Forks $17.21
