”Survey says” looks at various rankings and scorecards judging geographic locations, noting that these grades are best seen as a mix of art and data.
Buzz: Southern California workers this spring enjoyed the biggest jump in pay in the nation as the pandemic makes bosses pay up for talent.
Source: The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Cost Index that tracks changes in what workers cost bosses. The report includes a study of U.S. job hubs — the metropolitan area comprising Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties, plus 14 others.
Details
Wages and salaries in Southern California rose at a 5.4% annual rate in the 12 months ended in June — up from a 4.8% pace in March and 4% in June 2020.
That meant Southern California’s pay hikes ranked No. 1 nationally — and the 1.4 percentage-point gain over 12 months was the largest among the 15 metros tracked.
It’s not just here. Nationally, pay in June was rising at a 3.5% annual rate vs. 3% three months earlier and 2.9% a year earlier. But, compared to June 2020, wage hikes were bigger in only five of the 15 metros tracked.
Of those metros tracked across the U.S., after Southern California came Washington, D.C. with 4.3% raises as of June; then No. 3 Philadelphia at 3.8%. Lowest? Houston at 2.1%; then New York at 2.3%; and Minneapolis-St. Paul and Seattle at 2.4%.
And when you look at multi-state regions, recent pay raises averaged 4.1% in the West; 3.2% in the South; 3.6% in the Northeast; and 3.3% in the Midwest.
By the way
Southern California has been the No. 1 wage gain leader in seven of the last 10 quarters. June’s 5.4% rise was the local metro’s largest jump in a database that dates to 2006 and it’s a pay hike pace topped only three times by any other metro in the past 15 years — Miami in December 2006 to June 2007.
Bottom Line
Want to know a key reason why inflation is at a 13-year high in Los Angeles and Orange counties and the Inland Empire had the nation’s third-hardest rate in July?
Look at this wage index. It shows local bosses significantly upping pay to keep and attract talent in the pandemic era as workers remain hard to find. And consumers typically pay for pricier labor.
Since the start of 2020 when the coronavirus hit the economy, Southern California annualized pay increases averaged 4.3%, by this ECI math. Compare that to a 3.5% pace in pre-pandemic years of 2017 through 2019.
The trend is not as obvious nationally: Pay’s up at a 3% rate since 2020 starts vs. 2.9% before coronavirus.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
