An Updated Analysis of Wages in Metro Atlanta For more information: - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Are We Still Stuck in the Middle?: An Updated Analysis of Wages in Metro Atlanta

For more information:

mcarnathan@atlantaregional.com

In Sum…

• Nationally, metro Atlanta has fairly high wages, especially when considering its low cost-of-

living.

• But overall wage growth has stagnated since 2010…
• … especially in middle-wage jobs.
• In fact, when compared to a set of peer metro areas, growth in middle-wage occupations in

metro Atlanta is lagging significantly.

• But, over the past year, metro Atlanta has experienced growth in both wages and jobs in these

middle-wage occupations.

Average Hourly Earnings for All Employees, 2016

In terms of average hourly earnings, metro Atlanta is in the top 25 when compared to the top 100 U.S. metros. The Atlanta MSA has-as of 2016- average hourly earnings of $26.83.

How does metro Atlanta earnings compare to other U.S. metros?

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, via Neighborhood Nexus

Change in Average Hourly Earnings, 2012-2016 When compared to the top U.S. Metros, Atlanta records one of the largest positive changes in average hourly earnings since 2012, increasing by 2.8 percent. Hourly earnings have increased by about $0.70 (in constant dollars) between 2012 and 2016.

How have metro Atlanta earnings changed since 2012 ?

Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, via Neighborhood Nexus

87.3 91.6 92.5 95.3 95.9 96.1 96.4 98.2 98.2 98.6 99.9 108.2 109.6 112.3 112.8 116.2 119.5 129.5 140.3 140.3 144.3 144.8 146.8 176.4 227.4

0.0 50.0 100.0 150.0 200.0 250.0

San Antonio TX Tampa FL

• St. Louis MO-IL

Detroit MI Phoenix AZ Dallas TX Charlotte NC Houston TX Orlando FL Pittsburgh PA Atlanta GA Minneapolis MN Denver CO Miami FL Baltimore MD Chicago IL Philadelphia PA Portland OR Los Angeles CA Seattle WA Boston MA San Diego CA Washington DC San Francisco CA New York (Manhattan) NY

Cost of Living Index

Source: C2ER, Cost of Living Index, 2015 Annual Average

We can’t discuss wages in each metro area without also discussing cost of living. This chart ranks the cost of living index in large U.S. cities. Cities with the largest index are the most expensive, while cities with the lowest are the least

• expensive. So, as mentioned

before, Atlanta ranks relatively well in terms of average hourly earnings, and it also has a fairly low cost of living, when compared to the 25 largest metro areas. Conversely, while New York and San Francisco have the highest wages, they also have the highest cost of living.

This chart looks at total employment among the major occupational groupings in metro Atlanta for 2015. The bars are color-coded based on whether they are low-, middle- or high-wage occupations, as we classify them.

Total Employment by Major Occupation Groupings, 2015

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Mid-Wage High-Wage

50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000 400,000 450,000 Total Employment in 2015

Low-Wage

Low, Middle, and High Income EMPLOYMENT CHANGE, 2010-2015

Across these selected metro areas, jobs in low- and high-wage occupations have increased significantly, with Chicago being the

• exception. In the middle-wage occupations, however, all metro areas have experienced slower employment growth. Atlanta has

among the slowest growth rates, while Chicago has seen a decline in middle-wage jobs since 2010.

Job Growth in Middle-Wage Occupations Lagging in ATL

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

19.3% 2.7% 18.7% 20.2% 13.8% 10.5%

2.9%

• 5.7%

13.3% 12.9% 7.3% 3.6% 17.2% 7.6% 17.4% 20.0% 15.4% 13.4%

• 10.0%
• 5.0%

0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0%

Atlanta Chicago Dallas Houston Minneapolis US

Employment Change by Wage Levels, 2010-2015

Low Mid High

• 20,000
• 10,000

10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000

Median Annual Wage, 2015 Job Change, 2010-2015

This chart once again splits

• ut all occupations into

either high-wage, middle- wage or low-wage jobs. While the groupings are somewhat arbitrary, the chart shows that jobs for the seven occupations in the middle wage category have grown relatively slowly since 2010, especially when compared to job growth in the lower-wage and higher-wage occupations.

Job Change by Occupation Grouping, 2010-2015

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

$0 $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 Food Preparation and Serving Related Personal Care and Service Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Healthcare Support Sales and Related Transportation and Material Moving Production Office and Administrative Support Protective Service Construction and Extraction Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Education, Training, and Library Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Life, Physical, and Social Science Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Business and Financial Operations Architecture and Engineering Computer and Mathematical Legal Management

• 2,000

2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000

Median Annual Wage, 2015 Job Change, 2014-2015

So, the seven occupations in the middle have seen very little growth during the 2010-2015 period. But in the year between 2014- 2015, the rate of job growth among these middle-wage occupations increased, approaching the growth rates of high- wage occupations.

Job Change by Occupation Grouping, 2014-2015

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

$0 $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 Food Preparation and Serving Related Personal Care and Service Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Healthcare Support Sales and Related Transportation and Material Moving Production Office and Administrative Support Protective Service Construction and Extraction Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Education, Training, and Library Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Life, Physical, and Social Science Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Business and Financial Operations Architecture and Engineering Computer and Mathematical Legal Management

$(8,000) $(6,000) $(4,000) $(2,000) $- $2,000 $4,000 $6,000 $0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000 Food Preparation and Serving Related Personal Care and Service Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Healthcare Support Sales and Related Transportation and Material Moving Production Office and Administrative Support Protective Service Construction and Extraction Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Education, Training, and Library Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Life, Physical, and Social Science Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Business and Financial Operations Architecture and Engineering Computer and Mathematical Legal Management

Median Annual Wage, 2015 Wage Change, 2010-2015 ($2015)

Shifting from change in the number of jobs to change in real wages, this graph shows that the only

• ccupations to

experience any significant increase in wages since 2010 are those in the high-wage

• category. During

that same time, wages in the middle- and low- wage occupations experienced dramatic declines.

Wage Change by Major Occupations, 2010-2015

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

$0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000 Food Preparation and Serving Related Personal Care and Service Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Healthcare Support Sales and Related Transportation and Material Moving Production Office and Administrative Support Protective Service Construction and Extraction Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Education, Training, and Library Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Life, Physical, and Social Science Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Business and Financial Operations Architecture and Engineering Computer and Mathematical Legal Management

Median Annual Wage, 2015 Wage Change, 2014-2015 ($2015)

But when we look at real wage change between over the single year of 2014- 2015, we do see some moderate wage growth in both the middle- and lower-wage

• ccupations. Still,

inflation-adjusted wage growth can characterized as sluggish for both middle-wage and lower-wage

• ccupations.

Wage Change by Major Occupations, 2014-2015

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

• $3,000 -$2,000 -$1,000

$0 $1,000 $2,000 $3,000 $4,000 $5,000

What Has Happened to Metro Atlanta’s “Strategically Advantageous” Occupations since 2010?

This chart shows both job and wage change for the top 20 “strategically advantageous” occupations in metro

• Atlanta. These occupations have the

highest location quotients (LQs) in the

• region. LQs measure the region’s share of

employment in an occupation relative to the national share of employment for that same occupation. Metro Atlanta has a higher concentration of these “strategically advantageous” occupations when compared to the nation. Occupations in the top right quadrant of the chart have both gained jobs and increased wages since 2010, while

• ccupations in the bottom right have

increased wages, but lost jobs. Occupations in the top left quadrant have gained jobs, but have seen decreased wages, while occupations in the lower left have experienced both a loss in jobs and a drop in wages. Most of the “strategically advantageous”

• ccupations fall in the top left quadrant,

meaning that while they have added jobs, wages are declining.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Wage Change: 2010-2015 ($2015) Job Change: 2010-2015

Laborers/Movers - 2015 Wage: $23,950 Sales Reps - 2015 Wage: $49,650 Financial Mgrs.- 2015 Wage: $129,660 G&O Mgrs.- 2015 Wage: $104,990 Software Devs.- 2015 Wage: $94,030 - $95,780

• Mgmt. Analysts - 2015

Wage: $83,150

• Comp. Systems Analysts -

2015 Wage: $80,270 Sales Mgrs.- 2015 Wage: $115,760 Business Ops. Specialist- 2015 Wage: $66,290 Accts./Audits.- 2015 Wage: $70,820