The number of full-time employees in high paying sectors is rising steadily across the country despite a sharp drop in the overall number of new jobs, according to CIBC World Markets.

Job growth in sectors such as mining, farm product distribution, internet services and the manufacturing of beverages, tobacco, and electronic and printing products, is up 6% since last year. That’s contributing to an overall upward trend in job quality and personal incomes despite weakening conditions elsewhere in the labour market, notes Benjamin Tal, senior economist at CIBC World Markets in his latest Employment Quality Index (EQI) report.

Meanwhile, the number of jobs in low paying sectors such as repair and maintenance, clothing and clothing accessories has also risen, notes Tal, but by less than 1% during the past year with none of that increase has occurred over the last six months.

The index, which assesses employment quality through factors such as the number of part time and full time jobs, as well as compensation and self-employment levels across 100 industry groups, finished June at an 18-month high and increased 2.4% since the beginning of the year.

Tal points out that rising employment quality has occurred despite part-time employment rising faster than the number of full-time opportunities, as well as the labour market’s rapid slowdown over the last three months. On average, the economy is generating just 7,500 new jobs a month compared to about 40,000 a year ago.

Yet, Tal says that “against this bleak background, the average weekly wage is still rising by a dazzling 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. That’s almost double the inflation rate.” The increase, he says, reflects the bargaining position of those who hold full-time, highly skilled positions.

The report also notes that Saskatchewan has surpassed Alberta as leader in the level of employment quality among Canadian provinces. “This improvement was fuelled by strong gains in agriculture, energy extraction and mining exploration and developments, where earnings can run anywhere from 50% to 125% above the industrial average,” says Tal.

And after losing some ground in the second half of 2007, “employment quality in Ontario has improved by 4.7% since the beginning of the year,” says Tal. “A closer look suggests that many of the jobs lost in the sector over the past year were in low-paying industries such as wood, clothing and textile.”

The index is currently at its highest level since December 2006, and Tal expects the level of employment quality in Canada to remain elevated. Wage pressures will continue as a result, he says, despite a weakening labour market.