Greene County ranks near bottom in wage growth

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Greene County’s wages grew slower in the first quarter than the vast majority of the largest U.S. counties.

That’s according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which yesterday released its county employment and wages report for the first three months of the year.

Out of the 349 counties measured, Greene County ranked 315th by percent change compared with first-quarter 2017, according to a news release.

Greene County’s first-quarter average weekly wage was $813, a 1.2 percent increase from the same period a year earlier.

Greene County had the worst wages among the major counties in Missouri, though its wage growth was not last in the state, according to the release.

Below are Missouri’s seven largest counties, ranked by first-quarter average weekly wages. Also included are percent change and percentage change rank:
    •    county of St. Louis, $1,249, 3.9 percent. No. 93;
    •    city of St. Louis, $1,202, 4.9 percent, No. 39;
    •    Jackson, $1,087, 1.7 percent, No. 293;
    •    Clay, $951, 1.8 percent, No. 285;
    •    St. Charles, $959, 5.2 percent, No. 29;
    •    Boone, $829, 0.5 percent, No. 326; and
    •    Greene, $813, 1.2 percent, No. 315.

The U.S. average weekly wage grew 3.7 percent to $1,152 in the first quarter, according to the release.