Washington Wages Up 5% Last Year

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Wages rose 5 percent last year, says Washington

Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)

Annual wages in Washington state rose last year from 2006, but not as much as in the previous year.

According to the Washington Employment Security Department, annual wages rose to $44,721 last year from 2006, an increase of 5 percent. That's less than the 5.4 percent growth recorded from 2005 to 2006.

Average weekly wages rose to $860 last year from $818 in 2006. The state uses the average wages to compute unemployment insurance benefits, which will go up next month.

State officials said the minimum weekly benefit will go up from $122 to $129 and the maximum weekly benefit will go up from $515 to $541.

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