The latest update to The PayScale Index, which measures the change in pay for all employed US workers, showed an overall decline in wages of -0.5 percent for the second quarter. This was greater than PayScale’s prediction of a -0.1 percent decline. Annual wage growth was +0.3 percent. But not every metro area and industry took an equal hit. STEM-focused jobs, for example, once again saw an even bigger wage slowdown in Q2, despite constant news about growth in tech companies.
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Pay for science and biotech jobs declined by -1.1 percent last quarter, tied only with legal jobs for worst quarterly wage growth by industry. For the second quarter in a row, wages for IT jobs fell (-0.4 percent for Q2).
Metro areas with a high concentration of STEM jobs were also affected, showing smaller than usual or even negative wage growth. San Francisco, Seattle, and Boston all showed quarterly growth of only +0.2 percent, and San Diego‘s wages declined -0.6 percent.
Mining, Oil, and Gas Exploration rebounded last quarter, growing +1.1 percent in Q2 after a Q3 decline of -1.3 percent, but wages in Houston still declined -0.9 percent.
After Mining, the industry with the second highest growth for the quarter was Arts, Recreation, and Entertainment, which saw wages increase by +0.7 percent, thanks to increased consumer spending.
The PayScale Index forecasts a 0.2 percent increase in wages in Q3, and an annual wage growth of 0.4 percent.
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