Pay Raises At 4-Year Low In SoCal: Report

LOS ANGELES — Pay raises in Southern California are at their lowest levels in almost four years, according to a recent analysis.

Southern California News Group business columnist Jonathan Lansner recently looked at the private-industry Employment Cost Index numbers for the region encompassing Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and Ventura counties.

Lansner reported wages and salaries were up 4.5 percent year-over-year as of June, the same percentage increase the region saw in March and below the year-over-year hike of 5.3 percent in the area in June 2023. The last time annual raises were lower than the current rate was September 2020, according to Lansner.

Nationally, pay is up 4.1 percent annually as of June, he reported, while the Bay Area is a standout with 5.2 percent growth year-over-year, the highest spike it’s seen since at least 2006 when such numbers began being recorded.

Read more from Jonathan Lansner.