November 12, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Largest pay hike in Lafayette, La.

Among metropolitan areas, the largest percentage increase in average annual pay from 2000 to 2001 occurred in Lafayette, La. (8.1 percent).

Metropolitan areas with largest percentage increases in average annual pay, 2001
[Chart data—TXT]

The next largest increase occurred in Dutchess County, N.Y. (7.4 percent). Four metropolitan areas reported 6.8-percent increases in average annual pay: Enid, Okla., Fresno, Calif., Odessa-Midland, Texas, and Pensacola, Fla.

In comparison, average annual pay of employees in metropolitan areas nationwide increased by 2.4 percent from 2000 to 2001.

These data on average annual pay are a product of the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program.  Pay data presented here are for workers covered by State and Federal unemployment insurance programs. Find additional information in "Average Annual Pay Levels in Metropolitan Areas, 2001," news release USDL 02-625.