Southern California’s weekly wages have hit record highs with old-fashioned help: workers getting extra work.
The pay peaks were revealed in regional pay data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis showing that local bosses are upping how long workers are on the clock as well as hourly pay.
My trusty spreadsheet tells me that the average weekly wage at private employers in Los Angeles and Orange counties was a record-high $955.30 for the 12 months ended in February. That’s up $27.33 a week — a $1,421 annualized boost — compared to the previous 12 months, or a 2.8 percent increase. In the previous five years, weekly wages grew at just 1.8 percent annually.
In Riverside and San Bernardino counties, weekly wages averaged a record-high $803.94 through February, up $33.55 a week. That’s a $1,745 annualized hike or a 4.36 percent gain. In the previous five years, Inland Empire weekly wages grew at 0.5 percent annually.
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