Quebecers should see 3.3% salary increase in 2025

Quebecers will likely receive a small salary increase in 2025 rather than 2024, according to the latest report from l’Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés (CRHA).

Quebec employers plan to grant an average salary increase of 3.3 per cent next year, according to the CRHA’s 2025 salary forecast report.

This represents a drop of almost half a percentage point compared to what employers paid in 2024, or a 3.7 per cent increase.

The report, based on surveys by eight compensation firms and the expectations of more than 900 companies in Quebec, also indicates that less than five per cent of responding organizations anticipate a salary freeze next year.

This percentage is higher than the CRHA’s forecast for 2024, which was 3.25 per cent.

Professional, scientific and technical services are expected to grow by 3.8 per cent, followed by finance and insurance (3.5 per cent) and energy (3.5 per cent).

Of the 13 sectors studied, public service jobs are expected to see the most modest increase, with wage increases expected to average 2.6 per cent.

“We sense a lot of caution within organizations. On the one hand, they want a return to normal and to levels of increases closer to their ability to pay. On the other hand, they are facing retention challenges and are carefully monitoring their positioning in relation to the rest of the market,” said CRHA Executive Director Manon Poirier.

According to the report, the labour shortage has improved, but it’s still present in several sectors.

“In recent months, we have had less pressure for unskilled positions. But for highly skilled and specialized positions, the labor shortage has not disappeared,” said Poirier.

The CRHA wants to take advantage of the report to remind employers that “salary transparency is increasingly expected from candidates and employees.”

Last year, a survey conducted by the CRHA indicated that one in four people had already withdrawn from a recruitment process due to a level of salary transparency deemed unsatisfactory.

“If we look at our neighbours in other provinces, there are several Canadian provinces that have very recently legislated on salary transparency,” said Poirier, giving the recent example of Ontario, before adding that “it would probably be very plausible to imagine that such legislation could arrive in Quebec.”

Poirier argued that salary transparency helps to “create a climate of trust that helps motivate and retain talent.”

It also allows workers to “better understand their career prospects within the organization.”

The l’Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés represents 12,000 certified professionals.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews