PayScale Index Shows Positive Wage Growth in Cities Focused on Science and Technology

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwired - Oct 12, 2016) - Today, PayScale, Inc., the leader in cloud compensation data and software for businesses and individuals, released the Q3 2016 PayScale Index which tracks quarterly and annual trends in compensation and also provides a U.S. national wage forecast for the coming quarter. Annual wage growth in the U.S. was positive again this quarter with national annual wage growth of 2.3 percent. However, the uptick in annual wage growth was inconsistent across the country with some cities experiencing very positive growth, while wage growth in other cities was tepid.

"While it's certainly encouraging to see sustained positive growth in some metro areas, wages are not on the rise across all regions in the U.S.," said Katie Bardaro, VP of Data Analytics and Lead Economist at PayScale. "Cities with a high prevalence of science and technology positions such as San Francisco, Seattle and Boston experienced strong wage growth which contributed to driving the national average up for the country."

Here are some of the key findings from the Q3 2016 PayScale Index:

• Wage growth varied widely from city to city. In San Diego, annual wages grew 3.9 percent, while wages only increased 0.8 percent in St. Louis. In addition, STEM focused cities saw wages grow last quarter, while wages in Dallas, Houston, Miami and Tampa declined from Q2 to Q3, 2016.
• Although wages in the Mining, Oil and Gas Exploration industry increased from quarter to quarter, the growth was not enough to offset declining wages in the first half of 2016. Wage increase was a mere 0.8 percent annually for this industry.
• Accommodation and Food Services continues to be a top performing industry in Q3 with quarterly growth of 3.6 percent, as wages for this industry have grown very quickly over the past 18 months.
• Canadian and U.K. wage growth:
  • National wage growth in Canada appears to be slowing in 2016, with a modest decline in Q3 and sluggish year-over-year growth. However, Canada has seen the most wage growth since 2006 of the three countries analyzed with an increase of 11.5 percent (compared to 10.5 percent for both the U.K. and U.S.)
  • In the U.K., wages continued the climb they began in early 2015, with wages increasing 1.9 percent annually.

To view the entire interactive Q3 2016 PayScale Index which reflects wage trends across various industries, job categories, company sizes and major metros, please visit: http://www.payscale.com/payscale-index.

About The PayScale Index:
The PayScale Index follows changes in total cash compensation for full-time, private industry employees in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. The PayScale Index also includes:

• A forecast of the National U.S. PayScale Index for Q4 2016
• A PayScale Real Wage Index, which tracks changes in wages adjusted for inflation since 2006

For more information on The PayScale Index, please visit the methodology and FAQ pages.

About PayScale:
PayScale powers compensation solutions in the cloud to provide immediate visibility into the right pay for any position. Creator of the world's largest database of rich salary profiles, PayScale offers modern compensation software and real-time, data driven insights for employees and employers alike. More than 5,000 customers, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, use PayScale Benchmark™, PayScale Insight™ and MarketPay. These companies include Dish Network, Getty Images, Skullcandy, Bloomberg BNA and Time Warner. For more information, please visit: www.payscale.com or follow PayScale on Twitter: http://twitter.com/payscale