Wyoming & Mountain West See Much Needed Salary Growth

The economy has been hard.

Inflation continues to be a problem.

But at least the annual wages for some have gone up.

Those who live in the Mountain West have seen some extra money coming in.

Median yearly pay is now $57,700, according to the payroll, HR, and tax services company ADP. Salaries are up 5.9 percent – or about $1,800 – since last August, and they’ve risen by $5,800 since January 2021. (ADP researcher Liv Wang).

ADP researcher Liv Wang explains that this has a lot to do with labor shortages over the past few years.

“For each job opening, there are fewer workers out there available. Employers [have] to try harder to retain their talents [and] attract new talents, so they will raise the salary,” Wang said. (Wyoming Public Media).

 

Mountain West states saw above-average wage increases for long-term employees in the past year, with Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and New Mexico taking the lead.

The industries include leisure and hospitality, education, health services, and construction.

Women saw their wages increase faster than men.

Young people were more likely to see a bump in pay.

Some good news, for those who saw those raises, is that salary growth is still largely outpacing inflation.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics looked into how much, on average, people out West are spending on food, housing, energy, and everything else.

Inflation will vary depending on exactly where someone lives.

The areas of hottest inflation include the upper Rocky Mountain states of Montana and Wyoming, also down into Arizona and New Mexico.

Annual inflation peaked at over 10% in these areas.

It was running at 6% in March, a whole percentage point higher than the national average.