Wage gains don’t set world on fire

In the middle of the pack 
While the average weekly wage in Providence County increased 2.6 percent from September 2014 to September 2015, an increase that matched the national change, it fell behind the gains shown in southeastern Massachusetts' counties. / Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
In the middle of the pack While the average weekly wage in Providence County increased 2.6 percent from September 2014 to September 2015, an increase that matched the national change, it fell behind the gains shown in southeastern Massachusetts' counties. / Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

It is not a surprise that Rockland County, N.Y., a suburb of New York City, had a 24.9 percent increase in the average weekly wage from the third quarter of 2014 to the 2015 third quarter, the largest gain among the nation’s 343 largest counties. New York is an economic dynamo.

Nor should it shock that Midland County, Texas, in the middle of the oil patch, had the largest year-over-year decline, at -6.7 percent, given the massive drop in the price of crude.

But it might be a surprise to find out that Bristol County, Mass., showed up at No. 11 on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics list, with a 5 percent gain over the year, ending up at the end of September 2015 with an average weekly wage of $882.

Providence County, the only Rhode Island county to make the list, is decidedly average, at No. 154, with an average wage of $961 per week, and a gain of 2.6 percent, which by the way, was the same as the national gain for the period (the average weekly wage in the nation was $974).

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Providence, however, did not fare well when compared with the other close-by Massachusetts counties, which despite having a wide range in average salaries, all showed greater growth in the time period than the Ocean State core. Of particular note, at least in terms of showing the value of an innovation-based economy, was the average wage for Suffolk County, Mass., which hit $1,559 at the end of the period.

If Providence can take any consolation in trailing its Bay State neighbors, it is that New London County, Conn., ranked significantly lower, at No. 259, with a wage gain of 1.6 percent, ending up at an average of $943. •

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