1 in 3 B.C. workers don't make living wage, report finds

British Columbia's minimum wage is increasing by 65 cents an hour on June 1 but two groups say more change is needed for workers struggling to make ends meet.

A new analysis of Statistics Canada data by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Living Wage for Families B.C. shows one-third of workers in the province don't make a living wage — the hourly rate two working adults need to earn to meet a family of four's basic needs like food, clothing, housing and transport.

The living wages calculated by the two organizations vary from $20.64 in Dawson Creek to $26.51 in Clayoquot Sound — all above the new minimum wage in B.C. of $17.40.

"Any increases to the minimum wage are a good thing," said Anastasia French with Living Wage for Families B.C.

"What we need the government to do is to increase the minimum wage to at least $20 an hour and also look at what they can do to lower the cost of housing and … food so we can close that gap between the minimum wage and the living wage."

The report says workers not earning a living wage can work multiple jobs, face debt or make tough choices on essential expenses. Some turn to charities or food banks. Others suffer physical and mental health problems.

The authors used data from Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey to look at the 400,000 workers in B.C. making less than $20 per hour and the 650,000 who don't earn a living wage in seven of the province's largest urban areas.

Of those earning less than $20 hourly, 59 per cent are women, 52 per cent are racialized and 56 per cent are aged 25 or older.

"There's a real gender and racial gap," said French. "Half of all racialized women in Metro Vancouver don't earn a living wage."

French says action is needed to both increase pay for low-wage workers and lower costs of living, especially food and housing.

The $20 minimum wage her group is advocating for is "realistic," she said, but the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said in a May statement that mandating a $20-an-hour living wage would put more than 75,000 small businesses in B.C. at risk of becoming unprofitable.

That group says business owners think the government should focus on tax changes, housing initiatives and targeted support for low-income earners to help affordability.

B.C.'s Ministry of Labour says it is reviewing the report but acknowledged people "across the province are finding it difficult to make ends meet" and global inflation is adding pressure.

"This government has made consistent increases to the minimum wage since 2017 to prevent the lowest paid workers from falling behind," it said in an emailed statement.