Grow Worker Wages
As measured by the average weekly wage
Why Is This Important?
All workers at all levels and in all industries should see an increase in their wages. A tight labor market during recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic recession has caused significant wage growth in all three industry groups: 4.0 percent in the blue-collar industries, 3.6 percent in the higher-education services industries, and 6.7 percent in the lower-education services industries. This is particularly important in service, home health care, and childcare industries where employment has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
Metric Definition
Calculated by dividing total annual wages by annual average employment for all industries. A further division by 52 yields average weekly wages per employee.
Data source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics - Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)
Analysis
Current Status
Oakland County is in the process of reviewing additional data across the three main industry categories: 1) traditional blue-collar industries (e.g., manufacturing, transportation, construction, etc.); 2) higher-education service providing industries (e.g., financial sector and health care such as doctors and nurses); and 3) lower-education service industries (e.g., retail, hospitality, personal care services). Leveraging funding opportunities from federal and state sources, Oakland County will evaluate and deploy innovative strategies to grow wages in the county across ALL industries.
Learn More
For more information on the programs and services offered by the Economic Development office, visit Advantage Oakland.