Southern California bosses hire faster than the rest of the state but hand out smaller raises

Southern California job growth outpaced the rest of the state as 2017 ended, while local wages grew slower than others in California.

This comes from a quarterly job study by federal employment trackers based on detailed worker-by-worker data filed by employers. It’s typically a better snapshot of hiring and wage trends than monthly estimates released by state officials. However, it takes almost half a year to get the federal results.