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March 2, 2006 Average Wage-per-job Growth in North Dakota Among the Largest in Nation The average wage per job in North Dakota rose to $28,741 in 2004, an increase of 4.9 percent from $27,400 in 2003. This was the eighth largest percentage gain among all states. “This means that, on average, workers were increasing their buying power in addition to gaining on the wage gap between North Dakota and other states,” says Richard Rathge, director of the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University. “Much of the wage growth can be attributed to a healthy state economy fueled by sharp rises in energy development activity in the state.” This month’s “Population Bulletin,” a monthly publication from the North Dakota State Data Center, focuses on average wage data released from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) at www.bea.gov. BEA provides average wage-per-job data for the nation, states, counties and metropolitan areas throughout the nation. Nationally, wages rose 4.4 percent from 2003 to 2004 ($37,173 to $38,798), a rate that was 1.1 percent higher than inflation, which was 3.4 percent, during that period. While North Dakota wages are experiencing consistent and positive growth, the average wage earned in North Dakota still lags behind most states, and was 25.9 percent below the national average of $38,798 in 2004. Three other states had lower averages than North Dakota: Mississippi ($28,174), South Dakota ($28,035) and Montana ($27,721). Connecticut had the highest average wage per job in 2004 ($49,941), followed by New York ($49,221) and Massachusetts ($47,876). Statewide, all but one North Dakota county (Sheridan) experienced an increase in average wages between 2003 and 2004. During this same period, average wage increases in 10 North Dakota counties did not keep pace with inflation. ### Source:
Richard Rathge, (701) 231-8621, richard.rathge@ndsu.edu
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North Dakota State University |
