The post-Covid rebound in the US economy is upending the country’s geographical pay structure, as some states surge up the wage rankings and others fall back.
(Bloomberg) — The post-Covid rebound in the US economy is upending the country’s geographical pay structure, as some states surge up the wage rankings and others fall back.
Alabama is one of the biggest gainers over the past two years, according to data from ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Stanford Digital Economy Lab. Median pay for non-government jobs there jumped more than 17% in the period — a raise of almost $9,000 — to $60,000. That’s enough to bump the state all the way up to 13th in the nation as of last month, from 33rd in June 2021.
It’s almost caught up with New Jersey, one of the handful of states where pay has been falling. The typical New Jersey salary dropped by about $3,400 over the two years, to $60,200 — and its ranking fell from 4th to 11th.
The ADP numbers aren’t adjusted for inflation, which has also varied across the country during the pandemic recovery. Still, they capture some of the transformations under way in an economy that’s been pushed to adapt to new conditions including Covid lockdowns, the rise of remote work and now a wave of incentives for industrial investment.
Other states that climbed up the national league table include Pennsylvania, Indiana and Massachusetts — the latter claiming the top ranking as the only state where typical salaries exceeded $70,000.
The decliners include Connecticut — which slid from 15th place to 23rd over the two years — as well as New York and California. Oregon posted the biggest drop in median pay, with a slump of more than 10%.
Nationwide, median pay was $57,400 last month, up 6.4% from a year earlier. That’s likely more than double the increase in the cost of living over the period — showing that many US workers are now seeing their pay rise in real terms, after falling behind for most of the last couple of years. June inflation numbers are due out next week, and forecast to show an annual rate of 3%.
ADP’s data is based on payrolls for more than 25 million non-government workers.
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