Pa. Wages Going Up, But Lag Rest of U.S.

By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service
The Tube City Almanac
August 16, 2024
Posted in: State & Region

(Source: Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association; Keystone Research Center; Economic Policy Institute)

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

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

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 said. ‘We’ve seen significant increases — I think, almost 10 percent wage increases — in what we would typically call low-wage workers.”

According to the PWDA report, in both Pennsylvania and the United States, even with the pandemic hiccup, the period from 2014 to 2023 has been the second period of sustained wage growth at the median since 1979. The other period of sustained wage growth was 1995 to 2000.

(Unemployment News Remains Good: Separately, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry reports that the state’s unemployment rate remains unchanged over the month of July and remains at 3.4 percent. According to a report from L&I released this week, this is the 10th consecutive month at 3.4 percent. Pennsylvania remains under the U.S. unemployment rate, which rose by two-tenths of a percentage point from its June rate to 4.3 percent. —Tube City Almanac)

One reason that Pennsylvania’s average wage has increased, the PWDA reports, is that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate is lower than that of surrounding states.

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 metropolitan areas 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, (which) is having an average weekly wage growth of 6.3 percent over the last 2019 through 2023, compared to Philadelphia and others, who are seeing wage declines,” Amann said.

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 said about 28 percent of working Pennsylvanians still struggle to make ends meet.

Danielle M. Smith is a producer for Public News Service, where this story first appeared. An award-winning radio journalist/personality with more than a decade of experience in broadcast media, she is a former audio journalist with American Urban Radio Networks and Sheridan Broadcasting Networks who also hosts a weekly community affairs show “Good News” on WGBN (1360 AM/98.9 FM). Additional reporting was provided by Jason Togyer, a volunteer who serves as editor of Tube City Almanac and executive director of Tube City Community Media Inc.

Originally published August 16, 2024.

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