According to the Contra Costa Times, the Bay Area's private sector jobs' benefits and wages are increasing at twice the national average. In fact, the Bay has the fastest rate of wage growth of any major metropolitan area in the U.S., a report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says. The report showed a 4.6% increase in total compensation for local workers over the last twelve months. The next fastest increasing wages were found in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (4.1%), followed by Chicago (2.8%) and Boston (2.5%).
This and other recent news of San Francisco's lowest unemployment rate since 2008 all seem to be par for the course for the city's rapidly growing economy. In fact the recent discussion over raising the minimum wage in San Francisco to $15/hour, might indicate that just because wages are going up more than they are other places, they still may not be going up enough to remain in line with the area's cost of living. It will be interesting to see what voters decide when the minimum wage is on the ballot in fall.
[Via: Contra Costa Times]
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