The median wage for all occupations in Idaho rose just 3.8 percent from spring 2007 to spring 2008, exceeding the national increase of 3.1 percent during the first six months of the national recession.
The 2008 increase came on the heels of an anemic 2.4 percent increase from 2006 to 2007.
The Idaho Department of Labor’s 2009 Occupational Employment and Wage Report, which reflects specific occupational wages for 2008, put the median wage statewide at $14.32 an hour for all jobs, up from $13.79 an hour in 2007. Under the median wage, half the workers in the state made more and half made less.
The strength of the increase may reflect the spot labor shortages the state was experiencing during the summer and fall of 2007 before the recession took hold in December 2007. While the report captured the first of three 70-cent increases in the minimum wage, the 6.7 percent increase in the average entry wage to $8.79 an hour could also reflect the difficulty employers at the low end of the wage scale had in attracting workers.
At the same time, the average wage rose 5.7 percent to $17.94, reinforcing indications during the summer and fall of 2007 that employers were offering experienced workers better pay to lure them away from existing jobs to fill their own vacancies.
The latest figures do not include the last two stages of the three-phase increase in the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour this July 24. They also do not reflect the impact of the significant loss of jobs that began in the fall of 2008.
Detailed wage information for 620 specific occupations in Idaho can found in the report, which is available online at the Idaho Department of Labor’s labor market information Web site.
The report provides businesses and workers with a guide on what they can expect to pay and be paid for working in hundreds of different skill categories.
In addition to providing statewide wage data for each occupation, the survey of thousands of employers throughout Idaho provides detailed information for each of the five metropolitan areas – Boise, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Falls, Lewiston and Pocatello – and the six regions of the state – northern, north central, southwestern, south central, southeastern and east central.
The tables include total employment for each occupation, the average wage, the median wage, the entry wage or the average wage for the bottom third of the workers in each occupation. It also shows the middle range for wages, which is the wage for the 25th percentile and the 75th percentile of workers in each job.
For the entire report, go to http://lmi.idaho.gov, hover over “Wages” in the left hand column and click on “Wages by Occupation.”