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Florida wage rises, but still lags nation

By Times Staff
Published June 15, 2006

Is Florida making any headway in the wage race? Slowly. Florida ranked No. 2 in the nation in wage growth, with wages rising 8.1 percent from the third quarter of 2004 to the same period of 2005, but the state's average weekly wage of $708 was still almost $70 below that for the nation in the third quarter of 2005, the Department of Labor said Wednesday.

State's wage highlights, by the numbers:

$777

That's the national wage average. Wage levels in 21 of Florida's 22 larger counties were lower than that. Only Miami-Dade's $781 wage topped it.

6.1 percent

That's the national over-the-year growth rate in wages. Sixteen large Florida counties had wage gains that exceeded that rate, including Collier (up 10.4 percent), Okaloosa (9.6 percent), Sarasota (9.2 percent), Manatee (9.1 percent), and Lake and Miami-Dade (both 8.9 percent).

$745

That's the average weekly wage of Tampa Bay's top county, Hillsborough, up 7.3 percent. Pinellas followed at $687, up 7.7 percent, with Pasco last among the 22 Florida counties included at $565, a wage decrease of 7 percent. (Smaller Hernando and Citrus counties were not included in the Labor Department's review of 22 Florida counties.)

[Last modified June 15, 2006, 06:29:14]