Is it better to see wages go up or see more jobs created? It's a question that many in Rhode Island could be asking themselves these days.
The most recent County Employment and Wages report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts Providence County among the top 20 in the nation for the percentage growth of the average weekly wage from the third quarter of 2015 to the third quarter of last year. The same report, however, places Providence County at No. 283 among the 344 largest counties in the United States for employment growth.
Let's talk about the good news first. The average weekly wage in the United States increased over the 12 months through Sept. 30 by 5.4 percent to $1,027. Providence County saw wages grow 8.7 percent in that time to $1,046 per week on average, good enough for No. 18 on the list. But it was only fourth-highest in New England.
No. 3 in the nation was Hillsborough County, N.H. (which includes Manchester), with growth of 10.4 percent and an average weekly wage of $1,137. No. 8 was Middlesex County, Mass. (with Cambridge), at $1,555 per week for growth of 9.8 percent, while Cumberland County, Maine (which includes Portland) saw weekly wages grow 9.3 percent to $937.
While it is true that Rhode Island's economy relies on the strength of surrounding states, it seems that in this case, Providence County achieved its growth despite the surrounding communities. Among the 19 New England counties included in the BLS data, three of the four poorest-performing were from close-by Massachusetts: Plymouth County was No. 296 in the nation with wage growth of 3.7 percent; Bristol County was No. 289 with 3.9 percent wage growth; Norfolk County came in at No. 279, with wage growth of 4.1 percent. On the other end, New London County, Conn., saw wage growth of 7.6 percent, good enough for No. 39.
The bad news is that while the nation saw employment growth of 1.7 percent over the year (to 142.9 million), Providence County achieved employment growth of 0.5 percent, resulting in a rank of No. 283 nationally. The best percentage performance in New England was in Suffolk County (with Boston), which ranked No. 40 with 3.6 percent job growth. Ranking below Providence at No. 300 on the national list with employment growth of 0.2 percent were Fairfield and Hartford counties in Connecticut and Chittenden County, Vt. (which includes Burlington).
It is too soon to know if the two sets of numbers are related, but the state needs both indicators of economic health to grow. Until that happens, Rhode Island will not be taking part fully in the American recovery. •