Didn't get much of a raise last year? You've got lots of company.
The average hourly wage in the Tampa Bay area essentially stayed even with inflation last year at $15.94.
That's according to the latest National Compensation Survey compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"Wages were flat because employers shifted more compensation dollars to meet the higher costs of health care insurance and pensions," said Michael Wald, regional economist for the Bureau in Atlanta.
Nationally, hourly wages increased 2.6 percent to $17.41 an hour, but they inched up only 19 cents an hour in the Tampa Bay area.
In fact, the average hourly pay in the market has grown only 70 cents an hour since 2000. Still, hourly pay in the Tampa Bay area was $1.81 an hour higher than in Orlando, which is more reliant on tourism and has far fewer manufacturing jobs. In comparison, however, the average hourly wage paid in the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose area was $26.11; in New York City, it was $25.48. The Tampa Bay area was closer to the $12.92 paid in Brownsville, Texas.
The average is pulled down by part-time workers who on average earned $9.26 an hour, while full-time workers earned $16.71.
TAMPA BAY AREA WORKERS' WAGES
The annual Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of hourly wages paid by 267 Tampa Bay area companies to 512,000 employees sheds light on what people earn. Here are some examples.
