Greene County wages grow more quickly than majority of US

Greene County’s third-quarter 2018 wages grew more quickly than the other major counties in Missouri and the majority of the United States, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Wednesday.

With a 6.1 percent increase compared with the same quarter of 2017, Greene County ranked 12th nationwide by percent change. The BLS examined 349 of the largest U.S. counties for its quarterly wage report, according to a news release.

However, Greene’s average weekly wages in the third quarter were lower than the other six top counties in Missouri. During the three-month period, Greene County’s average weekly wage was $829.

Below are the counties, by wages, then wage-growth rank nationwide, in the third quarter:
• City of St. Louis, which also is a county, $1,118, No. 59;
• County of St. Louis, $1,083, No. 141;
• Jackson, $1,045, No. 241;
• Clay, $904, No. 17;
• Boone, $837, No. 259;
• St. Charles, $834, No. 128; and
• Greene, $829, No. 12.

Across the nation, the fastest-growing third-quarter weekly wages were recorded in Chatham County, Georgia, with an 8.5 percent increase to $928, according to the release.

The U.S. average weekly wage rose 3.3 percent to $1,055 in the third quarter, according to the release.

Future wage reports are likely to be impacted by Missouri’s minimum wage hike, which began to be phased in on Jan. 1 after voters approved it in November 2018.