The pandemic has highlighted how many people in America are living close to the financial edge. For years, working one full-time job has not been enough for many minimum wage workers to get by. Should a full-time job in America guarantee a living wage? NBCLX storyteller Cody Broadway explores how the system is working against our essential workers.
Wages are steadily rising across the nation in a candidate-friendly market, but Philadelphia still found itself in the bottom half of wage increases in the nation's largest metros, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports.
That's according to a review of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by The Playbook, which found average weekly earnings rose 5.7% in U.S. metro areas between February 2021 and February 2022. The average employee in a metro area is taking home about $48 more than they were in February 2021 ($920.30 compared to $872.59).
The Philadelphia region's wage increase falls just about in line with the national trend, as local workers are bringing in an average of $48 more per week than they were in February 2021. Average weekly earnings jumped from $1,083 to $1,131 between February 2021 and 2022 in the region, making Philadelphia the 24th best-earning metro area of the 100 largest.
Read more about the greater Philadelphia region's wage increases at PBJ.com.
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