See where Canada ranks globally for average salary in these 10 in-demand jobs

Vimal Sivakumar
Published: August 25, 2023

World-renowned employment agency and consulting firm Randstad released a list of the 15 most in-demand jobs in Canada for 2023.

What follows will provide an outline and overview of where Canada ranks globally in average annual base salary (unless otherwise noted) for the top 10 in-demand jobs identified by Randstad, which can help readers understand their earning potential if they were to establish careers in these roles across this country.

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For the purposes of this list, Canada (CAN) will be compared against the following nine countries, all of which joined Canada on the list of ten countries to accept the most permanent migrants in 2021 (according to usnews.com):

  • Switzerland (SWI)
  • The Netherlands (NET)
  • Australia (AUS)
  • Italy (ITA)
  • France (FRA)
  • The United Kingdom (UK)
  • Spain (SPA)
  • Germany (GER)
  • The United States of America (USA)

The importance of understanding the state of salaries for different occupations in this country is crucial, if for no other reason than because all employed persons around the world work a job to get paid. In other words, from Canada to Japan, all members of the global working population perform their tasks with the understanding that they will be compensated for their work; compensation which in turn will directly influence (if not determine) their standard of living in each country.

Keeping this in mind, below is the list (according to Randstad) of the most in-demand occupations in Canada, ordered from most to least in-demand.

Note: Average salaries for each occupation in this article were taken from payscale.com and each country will be listed with a salary in the local currency of that region

1. Software Developer

Learn more about the role of a software developer here.

SWI: 82,111 CHF

USA: 76,961 USD

AUS: 73,167 AUD

CAN: 70,792 CAD

GER: 51,360 EUR

NET: 44,423 EUR

FRA: 38,747 EUR

UK: 32,160 GBP

SPA: 28,288 EUR

ITA: 27,585 EUR

2. Human Resources (HR) Manager

Learn more about the role of an HR manager here.

SWI: 104,163 CHF

AUS: 96,374 AUD

CAN: 74,112 CAD

USA: 72,402 USD

NET: 55,637 EUR

GER: 51,081 EUR

ITA: 50,599 EUR

FRA: 48,366 EUR

SPA: 44,996 EUR

UK: 37,194 GBP

3. Mechanical Engineer

Learn more about the role of a mechanical engineer here.

SWI: 88,327 CHF

USA: 76,827 USD

AUS: 76,368 AUD

CAN: 70,795 CAD

GER: 51,013 EUR

NET: 42,956 EUR

FRA: 41,073 EUR

UK: 32,738 GBP

SPA: 32,111 EUR

ITA: 30,532 EUR

4. Welder

Learn more about the role of a welder here.

Note: Excluding Switzerland and Spain, the following wages will be presented in per-hour figures

SWI: 70,000 CHF

SPA: 30,000 EUR

AUS: 28.26 AUD

CAN: 24.54 CAD

USA: 20.13 USD

GER: 15.37 EUR

NET: 13.78 EUR

UK: 11.86 GBP

ITA: 10.00 EUR

FRA: N/A

5. Accounting Technician/Bookkeeper

Learn more about the role of an accounting technician/bookkeeper here.

Note: Excluding Germany and the Netherlands, the following wages will be presented in per-hour figures

GER: 35,703 EUR

NET: 33,551 EUR

AUS: 29.91 AUD

CAN: 21.16 CAD

USA: 19.23 USD

UK: 12.21 GBP

FRA: N/A

SWI: N/A

SPA: N/A

ITA: N/A

6. Registered Nurse

Learn more about the role of a registered nurse here.

Note: The following wages will be presented in a mix of annual and per-hour figures based on provided data from payscale.com

SWI: 61,540 CHF

GER: 34,342 EUR

FRA: 28,200 EUR

SPA: 29,277 EUR

UK: 26,601 GBP

ITA: 25,824 EUR

CAN: 35.34 CAD

AUS: 34.90 AUD

USA: 33.01 USD

NET: 19.52 EUR

7. Warehouse Worker

Learn more about the role of a warehouse worker here.

Note: Excluding Spain, the following wages will be presented in per-hour figures

SPA: 28,000 EUR

AUS: 23.54 AUD

CAN: 17.20 CAD

USA: 15.87 USD

GER: 11.99 EUR

NET: 11.32 EUR

UK: 9.38 GBP

ITA: 8.25 EUR

SWI: N/A

FRA: N/A

8. Customer Service Representative

Learn more about the role of a customer service representative here.

Note: Excluding Canada and the United States, the following wages will be presented in annual figures

SWI: 65,086 CHF

AUS: 53,360 AUD

NET: 31,434 EUR

FRA: 30,968 EUR

GER: 29,162 EUR

ITA: 25,500 EUR

SPA: 23,946 EUR

UK: 20,470 GBP

CAN: 16.68 CAD

USA: 15.74 USD

9. Delivery Driver

Learn more about the role of a delivery driver here.

Note: The following wages will be presented in per-hour figures

AUS: 23.65 AUD

CAN: 19.04 CAD

USA: 17.02 USD

GER: 10.24 EUR

NET: 10.23 EUR

UK: 9.83 GBP

FRA: N/A

ITA: N/A

SWI: N/A

SPA: N/A

10. Sales Associate

Learn more about the role of a sales associate here.

Note: Excluding Canada, the United States and the Netherlands, the following wages will be presented in annual figures

SWI: 64,938 CHF

AUS: 51,210 AUD

GER: 36,342 EUR

FRA: 33,129 EUR

ITA: 30,695 EUR

SPA: 26,000 EUR

UK: 23,030 GBP

CAN: 14.97 CAD

USA: 12.29 USD

NET: 11.23 EUR

The current state of Canadian immigration

Immigration to Canada is increasing with every passing year. In fact, Canada is targeting 500,000 annual permanent resident (PR) arrivals by 2025 under its Immigration Levels Plan for 2023-2025.

Most of these new PRs entering Canada will come to this country through economic class immigration programs, including Express Entry. Express Entry – the name of the application management system that handles immigration applications from the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), the Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) - is the federal government’s main pathway for immigration to this country.

In recent years, however, Canadian immigration has been led by the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). The PNP is a program that allows each participating province/territory to invite immigration candidates who best address local labour gaps and needs to apply for permanent residence in that region.

Note: Excluding Quebec and Nunavut, all 11 other provinces and territories across Canada operate a PNP

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