This means students currently working with the federal government are getting a raise and anyone who gets newly hired will be paid more money too!
Most federal agencies and departments have government of Canada student jobs available to Canadians in secondary or post-secondary school.
That includes positions with the Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP) that are "filled on an ongoing basis" in over 300 cities across the country.
The previous student jobs and FSWEP rates of pay were set back in 2022 which means students working for the federal government haven't gotten a raise in two years.
But wages are getting boosted and new student rates of pay come into effect on May 1, 2024.
Rates of pay for secondary school students will be $17.36 an hour, a raise of $1.36 per hour.
How much money secondary school students earn with government jobs is based on the highest provincial or territorial minimum wage at the time.
When this new rate was announced, Canada's highest minimum wage was in Yukon.
The territory's pay rate is $17.59 per hour.
It's not just high school students working for the feds who are getting raises, post-secondary school students are too.
These are the new rates of pay for post-secondary school students as of May 1, 2024:
- college/CEGEP — $17.36, $18.27, $19.34, $20.49, $21.74 or $23.03 an hour
- university, undergraduate — $18.42, $19.72, $21.13, $22.56, $24.18, $25.87 or $27.68 an hour
- university, masters — $24.62, $26.58, $28.70 or $30.99 an hour
- university, doctorate — $28.99, $31.60, $34.43 or $37.53 an hour
Pay rates for workers in post-secondary school are based on the student's current academic level and are set at the initial appointment or reappointment stage.
With this pay raise, student workers will be earning between $1.36 and $3.83 more per hour.
According to the federal government, students could actually make more than the new pay rate.
If the provincial or territorial minimum wage where the student works is higher than the maximum for their academic level, the student will get the provincial or territorial minimum wage rate.
Minimum wage is only higher than $17.36 — the lowest a student can make with a government job — in Yukon and Nunavut.
B.C.'s minimum wage will get bumped up to $17.40 per hour on June 1, 2024, making it higher than the student rate of pay set by the federal government.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
