A new artist-run survey of Vancouver animation industry employees has revealed stunning low salaries that in some cases barely reach Metro Vancouver’s baseline standard for a living wage.
Another key revelation from the survey, besides low wages, is that over 90% of animation workers in Vancouver have reported not being compensated for overtime work, a major violation of British Columbia labor law. When the unpaid overtime hours are factored into the salaries, many Vancouver artists earn below a living wage for Metro Vancouver.
Here is the survey’s overview to date of median wages in the Vancouver industry. Bear in mind, these figures are in Canadian dollars, which is significantly weaker than the U.S. dollar. (A layout artist’s CAD$875 weekly wage is only US$673.)