Bay Area wages jumped by 5.2% in the year ended in June, the largest local increase in a federal wage database that dates to 2006.
My trusty spreadsheet looked at the Employment Cost Index for private-industry workers. This yardstick tracks what bosses pay in wages and salaries nationwide and for 15 major job markets – including the Bay Area region comprising Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Sonoma counties.
June’s increase topped the previous Bay Area high of 5.1% set in the year ending March 2007. This math also shows Bay Area bosses gave out June’s third-largest pay hikes among the 15 US regions studied.
The pace of Bay Area raises increased from 4.7% in March, 4.4% a year ago, and a 4.1% average through 2022-23. This year’s growing Bay Area pay hikes come as job growth has returned to the region despite high-profile layoffs at major technology companies.
Plus, local pay hikes are outdistancing inflation. The San Francisco area’s Consumer Price Index was up 3% in 2024’s first half vs. inflation’s gains averaging 4.2% in 2021-23.
The Bay Area pay is a bit of an outlier as increased raises were found in just six of the 15 job markets tracked by the Employment Cost Index.
Nationally, these same pay raises ran 4.1% through June. That less than 4.3% seen in March, 4.6% a year ago and a 4.9% average in 2022-23. The last time US pay hikes were smaller were in June 2021.
And in Southern California, the 4.5% pace of wage hikes in June was the same as March but below June 2023’s 5.3% and the 4.9% average throughout 2022-23. The last time Southern California wage increases were smaller was the 12 months ended in September 2020.
Elsewhere
Wage hikes for 13 regions outside of California tracked by this index. Here’s where raises were bigger …
Miami: 6.6% raise – up 1.1 percentage points in a year.
Atlanta: 5.4% raise – up 0.8 points.
Houston: 5.1% raise – up 2.5 points.
Minneapolis: 4.3% raise – up 0.2 points.
Detroit: 4.6% raise – up 0.5 points.
And where they fell …
Washington, DC: 4.9% raise – off 0.8 percentage points in a year.
Seattle: 4.6% raise – off 0.8 points.
New York: 4% raise – off 0.6 points.
Dallas: 3.9% raise – off 0.4 points.
Chicago: 3.5% raise – off 0.7 points.
Boston: 3.3% raise – off 0.9 points.
Phoenix: 3.3% raise – off 1 point.
Philadelphia: 3.2% raise – off 3.4 points
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com