Southern California tops U.S. for pay raises — again

”Survey says” looks astatine assorted rankings and scorecards judging geographic locations portion noting these grades are champion seen arsenic a premix of creation and data.

Buzz: Southern California remains the apical spot successful the federation for wage raises.

Source: The Employment Cost Index, a Bureau of Labor Statistics metric, tracks changes successful what workers outgo bosses crossed the federation and specifically successful 15 U.S. occupation hubs including the portion of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties.

The trend

Southern California’s wages and salaries roseate astatine a 6.5% yearly complaint successful the 12 months ended successful September, up from 3.1% a twelvemonth earlier. That’s the highest level successful this index’s 15-year past for a No. 1 successful the 15 markets studied. Since 2019, SoCal has topped these rankings successful 8 quarters.

Details

Here’s what my trusty spreadsheet recovered wrong the information …

Extremes: September’s astir generous bosses, aft Southern California’s, were successful Miami and Washington, D.C., handing retired 4.7% raises. The stingiest raises were recovered successful Seattle astatine 2.5%, past Houston and Detroit astatine 2.7% and Atlanta astatine 3%.

Another apical spot: Raises successful the portion were 3.1% successful September 2020, truthful SoCal’s 3.4 percentage-point summation implicit 12 months besides ranked No. 1 among the 15 markets.

Long run: Since the extremity of 2006, SoCal employment costs person grown an mean 2.8% annually, the second-highest maturation among the large occupation markets.

U.S. trends: Pay successful September was rising astatine a 4.6% yearly complaint for each Americans vs. 3.5% successful June and 2.7% a twelvemonth earlier.

Pandemic boost: Since the coronavirus deed successful aboriginal 2020, Southern California wage increases averaged 4.63% vs. 3.5% successful 2017 done 2019. Nationally, wages were up astatine a 3.26% yearly gait successful the pandemic epoch compared with 2.87% successful 2017-19.

Another view

When the payment expenses are added in, SoCal’s full worker compensation costs were rising 5.5% successful the twelvemonth arsenic of September — the highest among the 15 markets vs. 2.7% a twelvemonth earlier. U.S. full compensation roseate 1.6% successful September vs. 0.6% a twelvemonth earlier.

Bottom line

Why is your brag grumpy?

Blame rising signs of wage inflation. The outgo of employees grew astatine an expanded complaint successful 12 of those 15 markets implicit the summertime — and they’re up implicit 12 months, too.

Jonathan Lansner is the concern columnist for the Southern California News Group. He tin beryllium reached astatine jlansner@scng.com