Washington Saw 2nd Largest Average Wage Increase Ever Last Year: ESD

OLYMPIA, WA — 2021 was a banner year for working Washingtonians, according to a new report from the state's Employment Security Department, which found Washington's average annual wage grew by 7.5 year-over-year. That's the second-largest increase on record, the ESD said, and was driven by a strong demand for workers and hiring difficulties in several sectors.

Washington's average annual wage was $82,508 by year's end. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual mean wage for all Americans in May 2021 was $58,260, putting Washington significantly ahead of the curve.

Unfortunately, that nearly record-breaking growth still isn't enough to keep pace with inflation, which rose over 8 percent over the past year.

The industries with the biggest wage increases were those that largely employed lower-wage workers, like leisure & hospitality, where average incomes rose 14.2 percent, transportation and warehousing, up 7.6 percent, and retail employees, whose wages went up 6.5 percent on average. Weekly pay also rose from $1,475 per week in 2020 to $1,586 in 2021— though that only accounts for wages that are covered by unemployment insurance.

In addition, more people are working and more of them are insured: Washington saw a 2.9 percent increase in the number of jobs in covered employment last year, and the average number of Workers in Washington covered by unemployment insurance rose by 91,105 workers from 3,166,878 in 2020 to 3,257,983 in 2021.

Unemployment is also on the decline. A recent study from WalletHub found the Evergreen's State unemployment rate had dipped 60.85 percent since the start of 2020, and 27.68 percent below pre-pandemic levels. The study ultimately ended up ranking Washington as the state with the 8th best unemployment rate recovery.