U.S. Wages Accelerate In January To 3.2% Year Over Year, According To Glassdoor Local Pay Reports

MILL VALLEY, Calif., Jan. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- In the first update on the state of U.S. wages in 2017 from job site Glassdoor, the annual median base pay in the United States grew 3.2 percent year over year in January 2017 to $51,360, according to the Glassdoor Local Pay Reports. This is a slight acceleration compared to last month's revised 2.9 percent year-over-year wage growth in December 2016. The Glassdoor Local Pay Reports provide a unique view into how salaries for more than 60 job titles across multiple industries have grown or declined compared to last year in the United States and five major metros: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco.¹

"The tight U.S. labor market continues to drive wages up in many cities across the country. In the first report of the year, the Glassdoor Local Pay Reports show a picture of a strong labor market, with slight acceleration of U.S. wage growth to 3.2 percent year-over-year, compared to 2.9 percent growth last month," said Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist of Glassdoor. "As the new administration and Congress begin their governing terms, Americans are watching to see how the economy will be affected."

Chicago Wages Tick Up, While New York City's Pay Slows

Median base pay grew by 4.3 percent year over year in January in Chicago to $56,279. That is a slight tick up compared to the 4.0 percent year-over-year wage growth Chicago saw last month, continuing the rising trend in that area. Both Los Angeles and San Francisco enjoyed pay growth rates above the national average as well and a slightly faster pace than last month. In Los Angeles, median base pay grew 3.8 percent from one year ago to $58,988 (up slightly compared to 3.4 percent year-over-year growth in December). San Francisco's wages grew 3.8 percent year over year to $66,221, largely unchanged from the 3.7 percent growth last month.

New York City's year-over-year wage growth slowed to 2.7 percent ($60,322) and was below the national average for the first time in four months. Wages slowed slightly compared to a 2.9 percent annual pay growth one month ago. For the fourth month in a row, Houston's wage growth pace remained below the national average, though it did rise to 2.7 percent year over year to $54,329, compared to just 1.9 percent in December.

"We will be watching New York City's wages closely, but it's important to remember that one month does not make a trend and many in-demand jobs and growing industries are found there. On the other hand, for the fourth month in a row, Houston continues to see median base pay growth below the national average, due in part to slow energy and manufacturing job growth," Chamberlain said.

Retail Jobs See Gains, Manufacturing Wages Continue to Decline

One of the jobs with the biggest pay gains this month was store manager, which saw 8.9 percent growth across the U.S, up to $50,015, compared to one year ago. According to Chamberlain, other retail jobs like retail key holder and cashier are also seeing gains, which likely result from rising minimum wages across the country and more retail companies raising employees' pay. He adds that recruiters continue to see pay gains this month -- a sign that U.S. employers are increasing hiring efforts in the first part of 2017. Recruiter wages grew 7.8 percent to $52,899 compared to last year.

In addition to Houston seeing slow pay growth, manufacturing jobs across the U.S. continued to see declines or stagnant growth in pay compared to last year, such as mechanical engineer (-0.9 percent to $71,756) and electrical engineer (1.6 percent to $76,723). According to Chamberlain, weak job growth in manufacturing makes it hard for workers to bargain for higher wages.

To see the five jobs with the biggest gains and declines, visit the Glassdoor Economic Research blog. 

Highest and Lowest Paying Jobs

In addition to the biggest gains and largest declines in wage growth, the Glassdoor Local Pay Reports track the highest and lowest paying jobs for the month. In January, the jobs with the nation's highest median base pay included physician ($237,868 per year), attorney ($102,291 per year), and data scientist ($95,908 per year).

The jobs with the lowest U.S. median base pay in December included cashier ($27,223 per year), bank teller ($28,193 per year) and pharmacy technician ($29,755 per year).

For a list of the top and bottom five, visit the Glassdoor Economic Research blog. 

The full data sets for the Glassdoor Local Pay Reports can be found on the Glassdoor Economic Research site, along with report methodology and Frequently Asked Questions.

To read more trends and insights from Chamberlain on this month's report or his predictions regarding the January BLS Employment Situation Report, visit the Glassdoor Economic Research blog.

To speak with Dr. Chamberlain regarding the Glassdoor Local Pay Reports or his predictions for this month's jobs report: [email protected].

About Glassdoor
Glassdoor is the world's most transparent job and recruiting marketplace that is changing how people search for jobs and how companies recruit top talent. Glassdoor combines job listings with anonymous reviews, ratings and salary data to help people find a job and company they love. This level of transparency, in turn, helps employers attract the right candidates for their company and culture at a fraction of the cost of other channels. Glassdoor offers employers job advertising,job posting and employer branding solutions in addition to robust talent analytics. Launched in 2008, Glassdoor has job listings and data for more than 600,000 employers in 190 countries and is available on iOS and Android platforms. For labor market trends and analysis, visit Glassdoor Economic Research. For career advice and job-related news and tips, visit the Glassdoor Blog.

Glassdoor® is a registered trademark of Glassdoor, Inc.

¹For full methodology of the Glassdoor Local Pay Reports and how salary estimates are compiled, visit: https://research-content.glassdoor.com/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/12/LocalPayReports_Methodology.pdf.

SOURCE Glassdoor

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