We’re all aware of the difficulties facing most of us on a broad spectrum in terms of current economics, and the “hangover” of recession. As the markets get effected, so do the salaries. Forbes issued a list of cities that have seen decrease in wages, as well as a list of cities that have seen an increase.
**No. 1: Rochester, N.Y.
**Wage Decrease: -2.3%
In April, when the national unemployment rate was 8.9%, unemployment in Rochester was a relatively low 7.4%.
But the economy of the region has suffered heavily, contracting 4.4% since its peak. Many jobs have been spared; many wages have not.
**No. 2: Syracuse, N.Y. **
**Wage Decrease: -2.2% **
Syracuse, too, has a better unemployment rate than the national average–only 7.7%–but its GDP has contracted more than 5% from its peak. Those economic losses have to show up somewhere.
**No. 3: Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y. **
**Wage Decrease: -2% **
When wages fall across a state, tax revenues to the state capital plunge as well. The New York State Comptroller’s Office reported that, in May, personal income tax revenues fell 44% compared with a year earlier.
**No. 4: New York, N.Y. / Newark, N.J. / Edison, Pa. **
**Wage Decrease: -1.5% **
Average wages can be disproportionately skewed by losses at the top. When a worker earning slightly above average loses his or her job, the overall average barely budges. but when financiers earning hundreds of thousands lose their jobs, it pulls down average wages quickly. Plunging salaries on Wall Street explain the fall in New York, and affect the rest of the metropolitan region as well.
**No. 5: Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, N.Y. **
**Wage Decrease: -1.5% **
Up the Hudson River, the effects of Wall Street’s troubles reverberate. Poughkeepsie has only 7.2% unemployment and its economy has shrunk only an estimated 2.8%, but wages are falling.
Click here for the full list of 10 metropolitan areas where wages fell the most.
Cities Where Wages Rose the Most
No. 1: Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.
Wage Increase: 2.6%
After experiencing the worst of the housing bust–home prices have fallen more than 50% from their peak in Phoenix, according to the Case-Shiller home price index–at least wages are growing in the Phoenix area.
Is it a “green shoot” of economic growth, or just evidence that people are no longer moving to Phoenix, causing a tight labor market for high-end jobs?
**No. 2: Tulsa, Okla. **
**Wage Increase: 2.6% **
Tulsa’s economy has stayed strong through the recession. Home prices have continued to rise, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and unemployment is a low 6%.
**No. 3: Baltimore-Towson, Md. **
**Wage Increase: 2.5% **
Baltimore is increasingly an extension of the nation’s capital. As lower-wage industries are replaced by relatively high-wage government-supported jobs, average wages increase.
No. 4: Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.
**Wage Increase: 2.3% **
Unemployment in Cape Coral, a major housing-bubble city, is a painful 11.9%. But average wages are jumping. It’s likely a sign that low-wage jobs created by the housing boom are being lost much more quickly than high-wage jobs. That pushes average wages higher, but it’s not a positive sign for the economy.
No. 5: Tucson, Ariz.
**Wage Increase: 2.2% **
Tucson has managed to keep unemployment at 6.5%, two percentage points below the national average. A relatively tight job market means wages can still rise.
Click here for the full list of 10 metropolitan areas where wages rose the most.
How does your City fare with the rest?