'How much does it pay?': More provinces move to make salary information mandatory in job postings

A lot of job seekers likely believe it's overdue, but a growing number of provinces are making it mandatory for salaries to be posted with job details.

Ontario is the latest province to announce it's moving that way, with the Labour Minister saying it strips away unnecessary effort on both sides.

"Making more information available at the start of the job search process is a win-win for everyone," David Piccini told reporters in Toronto.

Prince Edward Island introduced similar legislation last year and B.C. announced it was doing the same earlier this year.

"I've followed P.E.I.'s experience a little bit, and I must say, I'm still undecided as to whether or not this is good or bad," human resources specialist Gerald Walsh told CTV News Monday.

"There are pros and cons. For job seekers, it promotes transparency so they're not wasting their time applying for jobs that the salary range would be different than what they're actually seeking. So it's a much more efficient process overall," said Walsh, who founded his own human resource and executive search firm.

"From the employer's point of view, though, it's a bit challenging, because - I know from our own experience - a lot of employers do not have set salary ranges. So, what they do is defeat the purpose of these salaries ranges, they'll say $1 to $100,000, which is not very transparent of course, but it's part of that."

Walsh says employers often have a rough idea what they're willing to spend, but will pay more when a candidate brings extra value to the organization.

Still, privacy and confidentiality are also concerns, especially where competitors are concerned he says.

"They may not want their competitors seeing their actual salary ranges," says Walsh, adding it's good practice for companies to be transparent about that information internally.

Gathering salary information is also in the best interest of serious candidates, he says.

"I always encourage job seekers to do as much research as possible prior to applying for a job, so you've researched the background of the company. But you should also have a good sense of what a job will actually pay. And, if you do your homework - which many people don't do - you should have a ballpark idea as well," says Walsh.

"If an employer doesn't publish a salary range, there's no harm in calling the employer. In many instances, they'll give you a rough range for the position," he says.

"I don't think anybody wants anybody to waste the other person's time through applying for jobs where the pay doesn't align with what you're actually seeking."