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San Diego County wages have been practically flat — even before you consider inflation. County wages were up 0.1% annually as of the second quarter, said data released Wednesday, which lags by several months, by the U.
S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . That was well below the 4.
4% average for the nation, and the slowest gain of the 10 largest counties in the U.S. The bureau calculates wage growth by looking at the average weekly wage, which was $1,390 for the nation, and breaks down the numbers by county.
It said the average weekly pay in San Diego County was $1,526 as of the end June. Only Cook County, home to Chicago, also had somewhat slow wage growth in comparison at 3%. King County, home to Seattle, had the most at 10%.
While San Diego’s numbers might be discouraging, San Diego County’s annual wage is still higher than three other counties on the 10-county list (Orange, Miami-Dade and Maricopa). Also, the bureau’s data tends to be somewhat volatile because it uses a broad definition of wages, which includes bonuses, stock options, severance pay, profit distributions and more, said Ric Wise, an economist at the bureau. That can skew the data if, say, some companies decided not pay bonuses or there weren’t some other large payouts.
Another thing to consider is previous wage gains. San Diego County had the biggest annual wage gain of the 10 largest counties, 7%, in the second quarter of 2023. Wise said recent numbers could be an example of wages adjusting after a big increase.
Still, there’s no getting around the fact that wages did not increase much over the last year, which matters to workers even if they got a big raise a year or two ago. Alan Gin, economist at the University of San Diego, said inflation, while slowing, was still at work this year — 3.3% average in San Diego County through September.
“Your standard of living is decreasing,” he said of people without raises. “Your real income is down.” Gin said San Diego County has always struggled with wages compared to other large counties because a lack of corporate headquarters (where bonuses are shelled out), and a “San Diego discount” — sometimes called the sunshine tax — where workers accept a lower wage because of great weather.
One factor affecting San Diego’s overall wage gain was a loss of jobs in the high-paying professional and business services sector. That includes legal, scientific, waste management and architectural jobs. The bureau said there were 259,000 jobs in the sector, a drop of 4.
4% in a year. Wages were down 6.5%, to $2,198 a week, for the professional and business service sector.
A drop is common when there’s been noticeable reductions in employment. Sectors with sluggish wage gains included education and health services (nursing, social assistance), up 1% annually to a weekly wage of $1,243. Leisure and hospitality (hotels, gambling, restaurants) was up 2.
5% to $746 a week (the lowest paid sector); manufacturing rose 2.9% to $2,125 a week. The information sector, which includes work in broadcasting, telecommunications, newspapers and the publishing industry, had the biggest increase, at 11.
2% with a $2,987 weekly wage. There are only 20,600 workers in the sector, down 6% in a year, so it was like a blip on the countywide average. Also, the industry is small enough that only one or two companies with large wage gains could have made a difference.
Other sectors with wage gains that could beat out inflation were government (mainly education), up 4.8% with a weekly wage of $1,671; construction, up 4.5% in a year to $1,579 weekly; and trade, transportation and utilities (retail, wholesalers, warehousing), up 4.
4% in a year to $1,183 weekly. Nearby Orange County faired better with wage growth, up 4.2% for a weekly wage of $1,506, which was still $20 less than San Diego.
A more comprehensive picture of wages for San Diego County workers is expected from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis in mid-December.
That annual report looks at real personal income, a catch-all way of looking at how much money Americans earn in a year. The number includes wages, interest, dividends from stocks and government benefits, which is then reduced by the inflation rate. Wage growth in largest counties by population Second quarter 2024, annual King: $2,507 average weekly wage, 10.
4% annual growthDallas: $1,644, 5.2%New York: $2,721, 4.6%Maricopa: $1,381, 4.
6%Harris: $1,574, 4.4%Orange: $1,506, 4.2%Los Angeles: $1,534, 4.
1%Miami-Dade: $1,400, 3.2%Cook: $1,570, 3%San Diego: $1,526, 0.1%.
