Carson City's average weekly wage shows 1 percent growth in last quarter of 2014
Submitted by editor on Tue, 06/02/2015 - 2:44pm
The average weekly wage in Nevada rose to $899 during the fourth quarter of 2014, an increase of 1.6 percent relative to a year ago. In Carson City, wages gained 1 percent, from $861 in 2013 to $870 at the end of 2014.
Statewide, this is the highest quarter on record since 1996, said Bill Anderson, chief economist for Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.
“The state normally experiences the highest wages in the fourth quarter, mainly due to year-end bonuses,” Anderson said Tuesday. “Wages have continued trending upward with wage growth in each of the past seven quarters. This is a very positive sign for continued steady improvement in the average weekly wages.”
The annual average weekly wages for all of 2014 was $860 compared to $849 for 2013. This represents a 1.3 percent gain from the prior year. The average weekly wage has experienced year over year gains in each of the past four years.
The largest gain in wages occurred in Esmeralda County, which saw average weekly ages expand at a 4.8 percent clip in 2014, to $1,039 per week.
Four other counties saw gains of at least 3 percent: Pershing, Lincoln, Lander, and Douglas. In the state’s largest metro area, the Las Vegas/Clark County region, wages stood at $848 per week, on average, a 1.3 percent advance. In Washoe County, wages grew 2.1 percent, to $865 per week. All told, 16 of the state’s 17 counties realized wage gains in 2014. The lone exception was Churchill, where wages barely ticked down, by 0.2 percent.
While I’m encouraged by four straight years of wage growth statewide, gains are perhaps best described as moderate,” Anderson said. “In fact, overall prices grew by 1.6 percent for all of 2014, slightly higher than the gain in average weekly wages.”
Wage gains were recorded across all industry groups within the state. Financial activities grew by 2.6 percent, while construction rose 2.3 percent. Right behind them was manufacturing, with wages advancing at a 1.9 percent rate in 2014. Wages in the state’s largest industry, leisure/hospitality, grew at a rate of 1.3 percent. The mining sector pays the highest wages of any industry, at more than $1,560 per week in 2014. That translates into a 0.8 percent gain relative to 2013.
