Weekly wage climbs 2% in Providence County during 4Q

AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGES rose 2 percent in Providence County in the second quarter, ranking Providence No. 47 out of the 334 largest U.S. counties, and rose eight-tenths of a percent in Bristol County, Mass., which ranked No. 120. / COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGES rose 2 percent in Providence County in the second quarter, ranking Providence No. 47 out of the 334 largest U.S. counties, and rose eight-tenths of a percent in Bristol County, Mass., which ranked No. 120. / COURTESY U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

PROVIDENCE – The average weekly wage in Providence County rose to $1,015 in the fourth quarter of 2013, a 2 percent increase over the same period the year earlier, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.

The income hike landed Providence at No. 47 in the BLS ranking of the 334 largest U.S. counties in order of highest percentage rise in weekly wages.

Among the largest New England counties – those with 75,000 or more people employed – Providence placed third. The top New England counties in terms of fourth-quarter wage gains were Worcester, Mass. (No. 16), with a 3.5 percent rise to $1,000; Plymouth, Mass. (No. 31), with a 2.4 percent rise to $950; and Providence.

In Bristol County, Mass., the average weekly wage rose eight-tenths of a percent to $908 in the fourth quarter, placing at No. 120 in the country and No. 7 in New England.

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Among the 334 largest counties in the U.S., 292 experienced wage increases, according to the BLS. The U.S. average weekly wage was unchanged year over year, remaining at $1,000 in the fourth quarter of 2013.

In terms of year-over-year gains in employment, Providence and Bristol County lagged the nation. In the fourth quarter, employment in Providence rose 1.3 percent compared with the previous year, earning the county a spot at No. 175 among U.S. counties and No. 6 among New England counties.

The BLS reported that 276,500 employees worked at 17,500 workplace establishments in Providence County in the fourth quarter.

Bristol County, Mass., saw an increase of 1 percent in employment over the year, for a total of 217,000 people working at 16,100 workplace establishments. Bristol County placed at No. 207 in the U.S. and No. 11 in New England for gains in employment.

The top New England counties for fourth-quarter employment growth were Hillsborough, N.H. (No. 46) with 3.4 percent employment growth; Suffolk, Mass. (No. 107) with 2.3 percent; and Essex, Mass. (No. 163) with 1.5 percent.

Nationally, employment increased 1.8 percent.

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