By K. Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – A survey released Tuesday by the US Department of Labor finds area workers are competitively paid in relation to employees in similarly sized regions.
The data finds employees in the St. Louis metropolitan area earned an average of $18.06 an hour in June of 2002.
Labor department economist Dave McDermott says job hunters should note that though the economy may be down, wages tend to remain competitive.
So while it might be harder to find a job in a time like this, it doesn't necessarily mean that one's wages are going to fall," he said. "Similarly for employers, they know they have to remain competitive in the labor market and they can't afford for their good staff to be stolen away by other employers, so they try to remain competitive in terms of wages.
The survey included more than 615,000 St. Louis area workers in private sector and state and local government jobs.