While it’s easy to remember the days of the recession, the United States is now proud to see the turn of the tide as the economy picks up. From lower unemployment rates to more sales, companies are beginning to flourish and people are once again feeling like they can possibly attain the American dream. Although the change can be felt everywhere across the country, some states are seeing the effects more than others. Dallas County or D-FW is one area that is seeing the benefits of the economic boom with workers’ pay significantly on the rise, far surpassing that of the rest of the country.
Those who live in this county have seen astonishing increases in their pay over a twelve-month period that ended in September. During this time, those who live within the county saw their pay checks go up an average of 5.1%, which was a greater increase than any period since 2016. With such a huge increase in wages, this county managed to see their workers gaining a greater pay boost than anywhere else in the United States.
This comes as a welcome surprise for residents who were used to falling behind in the past. Up until the last year, the area had seen four years of straggling behind the rest of the nation with their wages being significantly lower.
Cheryl Abbot, who works for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as their regional economist, pointed out that everyone in the area had been anxiously waiting for their wages to catch up with that of the rest of the country. She points out that the upswing of wages maybe the only way to get new recruits. Obviously, it makes sense that individuals will be more likely to take on a job if it pays more money!
In 2019, approximately 128,000 jobs were added to the D-FW area, making them not only the area with the fastest pay raise but also one that has added more new positions than any other metro. While D-FW continues to add new jobs to their area, the unemployment rate continues to drop. Right now, the numbers are at 2.9%, which is the lowest it’s been in over twenty-years.
With the huge number of jobs, the lower number of job-seekers, and the rises in pay, it has become almost a battle for companies to find talented individuals to hire. Jobs in the IT sector saw an even greater rise in pay in the D-FW area, with the pay rising as much as 6% within a twelve-month period. Recruiting new talent is becoming more difficult than ever before, leaving some businesses struggling to beat out their competition by offering the best pay raises to employees.
IT isn’t the only industry that has seen a pay raise. Those who provide professional services such as lawyers, accountants, and administrative support staff are seeing even more money for the jobs that they do. Those who provided these services saw their pay increase over 6.5%.
The hospitality industry saw another surge in pay in the D-FW area with individuals seeing their weekly paycheck go up as much as 7.2%.
The vast number of job opportunities has given employees the chance to demand higher pay with 62% saying that they have negotiated to get their salaries raised. Experts are pointing toward multiple job offers as being the reason that employees now have the courage needed to ask for more money.