Average annual earnings surpassed $30,000 for the first time in 2000 Statistics Canada reported Tuesday. Working Canadians are “reaping the benefits of globalization and the knowledge-based economy,” according to the 2001 Census.

The 7.3% gain in average earnings during the past decade was the result of three factors, says StatsCan. That includes: the demand for highly skilled workers in the face of advancing technologies and globalization; an aging workforce of baby boomers who experienced substantial gains in earnings during the decade; and more working people with university education.

As a result, the number of earners in higher income brackets — those who make $80,000 or more a year and especially those who make $100,000 or more — soared during the 1990s.

Despite the increase in incomes, though, a new survey conducted by Decima Research for Investors Group is suggesting that consumer confidence is the shakiest since right after the 9/11 attacks. The poll came in with a February confidence index of 80.4. That’s down 10 points from last spring. It the lowest level since November 2001.

Investors are holding their breath before the start of trading today, due to a warning from Nokia Corp. Its first-quarter sales and earnings are expected to come in at the low end of its forecasts. The company is blaming declining demand.

So far, trading of Canada’s tech-darling, Nortel Networks, has been unaffected in trading on the European bourses, which have generally been weakened by the Nokia news.

The German DAX is off 0.4%. The Paris CAC-40 has declined 0.7%, but London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.5%.

Japan’s Nikkei stock average continued its poor showing overnight. It closed down 179.83 points, or 2.2%, to 7,862.43 — its lowest close since Jan. 24, 1983. The stocks of big exporters such as Canon, Honda, Sony, and Toshiba, have been falling due to war worries and the potential impact on exports to America.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index slipped 1.94 points to 8,859.93.