By The Associated Press
Since the recession, despite steady job growth and a drop in the unemployment rate from 10 percent during 2009 to 6.1 percent in August, most Americans have received little increase in pay.
Average wages, before inflation, have risen only about 2 percent a year since the downturn ended five years ago. That’s far below the 3.5 percent to 4 percent that’s typical of healthier recoveries.
Just why pay has been so weak and when it might strengthen are key issues for the Federal Reserve in deciding when to raise interest rates.
Still, some industries have fared better, particularly financial services. Average pay in that industry _ which includes banking, insurance and Wall Street traders _ has risen 16.2 percent over the past five years. That’s better than the 10.2 percent average for private-sector employees overall.
Here are the average hourly wages earned in 12 large industries tracked by the government:
____________________________________________August 2009_____August 2014_____Change_____
Total $22.26 24.53 10.2%
Mining, logging 27.42 31.10 13.4%
Construction 24.90 26.72 7.3%
Manufacturing 23.13 24.93 7.8%
Wholesalers 25.73 28.20 9.6%
Retailers 15.54 17.06 9.8%
Transportation, warehousing 20.45 22.97 12.3%
Utilities 32.82 35.43 8.0%
Data analytics, film, broadcasting 29.65 34.08 14.9%
Financial services 26.60 30.90 16.2%
Professional services * 27.05 29.26 8.2%
Education and health 22.27 24.76 11.2%
Restaurants, hotels, entertainment 13.00 13.95 7.3%
* Includes engineers, architects, accountants
Source:
Bureau of Labor Statistics
