US WAGE GROWTH STEADILY RISES AFTER SUMMER SLOWDOWN; PAY IN OCTOBER UP 1.6 PERCENT YEAR OVER YEAR

MILL VALLEY, Calif., Oct. 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — According to job site Glassdoor, the annual median base pay in the United States grew 1.6 percent year over year (YOY) in October 2017 to $51,220. The Glassdoor Local Pay Reports show pay growth ticked up slightly from a revised 1.4 percent growth last month. Pay growth peaked in January 2017 at a revised 3.5 percent.

The Glassdoor Local Pay Reports provide a unique monthly view into the country’s wage picture with salary estimates for nearly 85 job titles and year-over-year pay growth trends in the United States. The reports include details on 10 major metros: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.¹

“U.S. wage growth is steady but slow. We’ve seen incremental increases over the past few months after a slight decline of U.S. median pay over the summer months. While we are still well below the 3.5 percent pay growth rate of January, I am encouraged by the slight salary increases recorded since August and anticipate growth to continue to accelerate through the end of the year,” said Dr. Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist of Glassdoor.

Holiday Season and Online Retailer Growth Fuel Retail Salary Increase
Traditional retail roles like store managers (up 4.0 percent to $48,616) and cashiers (up 3.7 percent to $27,549) are on the rise in advance of the holiday season. Online retailers are also fueling above average wage growth for roles that handle back-end operations including warehouse associates (up 4.3 percent to $42,893) and truck drivers (up 4.1 percent to $52,629).

“We are seeing increased demand for roles that serve as the logistical foundation for back-end operations for online retail. We anticipate this will continue to grow over the coming months, fueled by the upcoming holiday season and as Amazon and Walmart expand their online retail presence,” said Chamberlain.

Insurance Agent Salaries Up; Healthcare Industry Continues to Grow
As the healthcare sector continues to grow, several jobs within the field are seeing rapid wage growth including insurance agents (up 5.3 percent to $42,729) and licensed practical nurse (up 3.4 percent to $42,091). Insurance agents are in high demand given their understanding of both health and life insurance, especially tailored to the country’s population of aging Baby Boomers. Similar to September’s Local Pay Reports, nursing roles continue to see salary growth as their roles as the frontline of healthcare are increasing in demand. There are more than 908,000 open jobs in the healthcare industry on Glassdoor.

“Our nation’s aging population has given rise to growing opportunities for highly-specialized insurance professionals that understand sophisticated long-term health, life and other insurance products. These individuals help make sense of what can be a confusing process for consumers, and rising demand for these health-related products is fueling a strong labor market and wage increase for these roles,” continued Chamberlain.

Business Development Wages Rise as Other Tech Salaries Fall
Pay growth for business development managers is on the rise (up 3.8 percent to $69,756). As tech companies look for ways to expand and monetize their offering, business development managers are the front line for increasing a company’s bottom line. However, some technology jobs are seeing weak gains in salary, including java developer (up 0.3 percent to $74,387) and programmer analyst (up 0.2 percent to $65,682).

Among jobs experiencing the biggest declines in YOY pay growth in October, maintenance worker (down 0.6 percent to $40,501) and attorneys (down 0.2 percent to $93,364) topped the list.

For a list of jobs with the biggest pay declines, visit the Glassdoor Economic Research blog.

Fastest Pay Growth in San Francisco and Seattle; Houston Falls Far Behind
Among the 10 metros tracked, wage growth was fastest in San Francisco (up 2.1 percent to $68,023), Seattle (up 2.1 percent to $60,033), and Los Angeles (up 2.0 percent to $59,478). Houston pay growth was flat this month (0.0 percent to $53,126) and lagged well behind the U.S. average.

For more on jobs with the highest and lowest pay, visit the Glassdoor Economic Research blog.

The full data sets for the Glassdoor Local Pay Reports can be found on the Glassdoor Economic Research site, along with report methodology and Frequently Asked Questions.