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US wage growth edges up in February, fastest in San Francisco

March 06, 2018

US wage growth accelerated slightly in February, according to data from Glassdoor. The annual median base pay in the US grew 1.0% year over year in February to $51,975, up from the 0.6% revised pay growth in January. Pay growth peaked more than a year ago in January 2017 at a revised 3.4%.

Among the 10 metros tracked, wage growth was fastest in San Francisco, up 3.1% to $69,276, and Washington, DC, up 1.9% to $59,780. Houston, which saw slow to negative wages in 2017, was up 1.3% in February to $55,621. Chicago growth remained flat at $56,304.

“While we saw wage growth tick up slightly this month to 1.0%, it’s still a dramatic plunge from the 3.4% peak over a year ago, as pay growth hasn’t yet fully recovered from the 2017 summer slump,” said Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist of Glassdoor. “However, with our robust economy, healthy labor market and bright spots among e-commerce positions, healthcare, and certain roles in technology and finance, we are likely to see wages rise into this year as employers pull out the stops to fill much needed positions.”

Financial advisor roles are seeing wage gains above the national average in February, up 4.4% to $54,906, as financial institutions gear up for the looming tax season.

Median base pay for internet and tech jobs is $52,209, slightly higher than the US median base pay. Several more traditional tech roles are seeing above-average pay growth, including network engineer, web and web designer. Not all tech roles are seeing wage gains: pay is falling for other positions within the industry, like UX designer, which is down 1.0%, and programmer analyst, down 0.8%.

“We’ve continued to see a steady ebb and flow of wage growth for many technology jobs as companies bump up wages to satisfy demand, seeing those same wages flatten or slow later on as their needs are met,” Chamberlain said. “In general, tech workers today should be fluent in a diverse range of coding languages and skills relevant to their technical field, and not lean too heavily into a singular tech specialty.”

The jobs in February with the fastest pay growth in the US are:

  1. Delivery driver: up 5.4% to $43,771
  2. Restaurant cook: up 4.6% to $29,034
  3. Financial advisor: up 4.4% to $54,906 
  4. Truck driver: up 4.4% to $53,932
  5. Bank teller: up 4.1% to $29,3986
  6. Medical technologist: up 3.9% to $54,5827
  7. Network engineer: up 3.6% to $71,1038
  8. Attorney: up 3.4% to $99,270
  9. Web developer: up 3.2% to $65,013
  10. Field engineer: up 3.0% to $71,805