Report: PA Wage Growth Surpasses Pre-Pandemic Levels, National Average

by Danielle Smith, Keystone State News Connection

Pennsylvania’s wage growth has rebounded from pre-pandemic lows and now exceeds the national average, according to the latest Pennsylvania Workforce Trends report.

The data show average hourly earnings for nonsupervisory workers grew almost 4% between 2019 and this year. Pay grew even faster among low-wage workers, at 9.2% in Pennsylvania, but not as much as the U.S. average of more than 13%.

Carrie Amann, executive director of the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association, said despite the wage increases, Pennsylvanians are well aware the cost of living has also been on the uptick.

“Employers are, in fact, paying their workers more in certain occupations and certain percentiles of workers,” Amann reported. “We’ve seen significant increases — I think, almost 10% wage increases — in what we would typically call low-wage workers.”

The report showed the national average pay increase for low-wage workers is higher than in Pennsylvania because more states have increased their minimum wage above the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. Pennsylvania has not done so, despite neighboring states like West Virginia setting their minimum wage at $8.75 an hour and New York at $15 an hour.

Among the Pennsylvania Local Workforce Development Areas, 15 of 22 saw increased weekly wages from the first quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2023. Amann emphasized the significance of local wage-growth data. She cited Lancaster as an example, due in part to the cost of living and workforce supply and demand.

“We do see disparities and differences between Lancaster — who is having an average weekly wage growth of 6.3% over the last 2019 through 2023 — compared to Philadelphia and others, who are seeing wage declines,” Amann noted.

Amann added her organization partners closely with the United Way of Pennsylvania on its advocacy efforts around workers in the category known as “ALICE,” which stands for Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed. She emphasized that 28% of working Pennsylvanians struggle to survive.

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Source: bctv