Salary information increasing in Canadian job postings but ranges more common than a specific figure

Lisa Pasquin, founder and president at Toronto’s Craft Public Relations, remembers the day last year when she released the company’s salary bands publicly, in a trade magazine: “That was the hardest day of my life, professionally.”

Even though she knew the company’s pay was “on par with industry standards” Ms. Pasquin was nervous to have money conversations about employees out in the open. “We’ve been so conditioned that it’s not an acceptable topic.”

But instead of facing criticism, “I got a dozen unsolicited job applications that day,” she says. Craft now publishes that information on its website, and in all its job postings, and is among a growing list of Canadian companies making salary information available to potential applicants.

At a time when the unemployment rate is at 6.6 per cent, its highest in almost three years, finding a job can take much longer than usual. And while submitting applications is often time-consuming, seeing a posted salary can help job seekers focus their effort on a job they would actually want to accept, experts say.

According to Brendon Bernard, senior economist at job-posting website Indeed, the share of Canadian postings that included pay information has continued rising steadily since 2019, from about one-fifth of postings to half of the posts on the company’s site today. This includes job ads originating from other sources, such as company web pages, following moves by several provinces to make posting salary information mandatory, he says.

However, a report he wrote on the topic earlier this year also found more companies post ranges – as opposed to a specific number.

Mr. Bernard says some companies prefer ranges so they can tailor pay to the experience of the candidate and the competition within the job market. He says ranges are more common in higher paying occupations with a salary, as opposed to job postings that list an hourly rate.

“Employers might be more wary of posting pay in annual, rather than hourly terms, as the latter still provides some flexibility in determining overall labour costs,” states the report, which was prompted by a move to make salary information mandatory in British Columbia job postings in late 2023. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador already have such laws, and in Ontario, a similar one has passed but not yet been enacted.

Mr. Bernard says postings with a listed salary get more applicants, and that companies that are paying market rates or above benefit most from posting salaries. “It can be a helpful recruitment tool providing that information, so job seekers know it’s worth their time.”

For companies that pay below market rates or have staff members in similar roles with a wide range of salaries, it can be less beneficial, he says.

“If existing staff were hired during weaker economic times, and all of a sudden, employers really need to ramp up pay for new hires, it can cause some awkward situations,” says Mr. Bernard, adding it can be harder for applicants to negotiate a competitive salary without pay information.

Ms. Pasquin, at Craft PR, says being as clear as possible about salary in advance takes the onus off the applicant to suggest what they should be paid, and that this kind of transparency is a way to reduce the gender pay gap. Research shows women often ask for, and are paid, less than men.

“When job applicants are shown a median salary, that ‘ask gap’ disappears,” she says, adding that the power dynamics between employer and potential hire make it unfair to expect the person being hired to suggest their pay, considering the employer sets all other terms and expectations of the job.

At Craft, each job title has a salary band that includes a minimum and maximum amount that workers could be paid before being promoted to a new role. Ms. Pasquin says having a range instead of a specific figure allows the company to reward progress within a specific role.

“Not all account managers, for example, are at the same point in their development within that role and we want to have the flexibility to adjust compensation accordingly,” she says, adding that being upfront about pay has helped Craft’s recruitment efforts, attracting “a higher quantity and quality of job seekers.”

“It sends a really important message about who we are as a company,” she says.

Jermaine L. Murray, a recruiter and career coach who runs Toronto-based JupiterHR, says he has also observed an increase in posted salary ranges, but notes that even in places where such information is mandatory, some companies are finding ways around complying.

One of his clients, for example, interviewed for a job in Colorado that listed the range as between $1 and $1-million.

“Are you serious?” says Mr. Murray. He has also seen companies post a range, but then offer a salary below that range following the interview process.

“They’ll say things like, ‘We really liked you but the interviewers felt like the skill competency was low,’” he says, noting this has increased in the current job market, in which talented job seekers in fields such as technology often take a year or more to find work. “It’s a workaround to get around the salary range.”