October 01, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

San Jose has biggest pay hike again

As in 1999, workers in San Jose, California, had the largest increase in average annual pay in 2000 of any metropolitan area in the country.

Metropolitan areas with largest percentage increases in average annual pay for covered workers, 2000
[Chart data—TXT]

Average pay in the San Jose area rose by 24.5 percent in 2000. San Francisco, California had the next highest increase in average annual pay at 18.3 percent, followed by Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California (15.5 percent), Boulder-Longmont, Colorado (13.9 percent), and Casper, Wyoming (13.7 percent).

In comparison, average annual pay of employees in metropolitan areas nationwide increased by 6.0 percent from 1999 to 2000.

These data on average annual pay are a product of the BLS Covered 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, 2000," news release USDL 01-318.