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Mid-Columbians in lower-paying jobs tend to earn less than their counterparts across Washington.
That’s what a breakdown of figures show in a state Employment Security Department report on employment and wages released in September.
The report’s statistics came from statewide surveys with a 66 percent return rate, said Asja Suljic, a Kennewick-based regional labor economist for the Employment Security Department.
A second state wage study showed a significant difference in Washington’s median hourly wages between rural and urban counties. Eight counties fit the department’s definition of urban. The remaining 31, including Benton and Franklin counties, are considered rural.
The second study showed the median hourly wage for rural counties dropping slightly from $18.05 to $18.04, from 2011-15. In the same period, the state’s urban median hourly wages grew from $24.39 to $24.87 in the same timeframe. “Median” means 50 percent of the hourly wages are above that figure and 50 percent are below it.
Here are a few average-hourly-wage snapshots of the September report’s findings. Overall, there are more than 400 job categories in the report. For the full list, go to bit.ly/WAwagesurvey.