PORTLAND — New data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that Portland-area workers earn 8 percent more money than the national average.
The average national hourly wage was $23.23 in May 2015. Portland-area workers earned almost $2 more — at $25.07.
This is due to the influx of people entering high-paying professions such as software development, law and engineering, said Oregon economist Joshua Lehner.
“Job growth coming out of the great recession in the Portland metropolitan area has absolutely been dominated by growth in high-wage occupations,” said Lehner.
By adding a large number of jobs to the top end of the wage spectrum, the median and average wages in the area are pulled up, according to Lehner.
Corvallis, Ore., employees also earned 8 percent more than the national average, with its workers earning an average hourly wage of $25.06.
Lehner said this is due to the mix of jobs in Corvallis, from a lot of highly educated people working in and around the university, to companies such as Hewitt-Packard and other highly paid jobs.
He also adds that Corvallis’ economy has been more stable than the rest of the state in recent decades, and has had shallower recessions.
Though Portland and Corvallis are well above the national average, Oregon cities Eugene, Salem and Bend are well below.
Eugene is about 10 percent below the nationwide average, with its employees earning an average hourly wage of $20.81.
For Eugene, Lehner said the main contributor to the lower wages was the loss of manufacturing during the recession.
Lehner said Eugene is adjusting, though, growing economically with 1.5 to 2 percent job growth.
According to the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in Portland, the highest-paying jobs are that of architectural and engineering managers at an average hourly wage of $77.39. That’s $160,970 a year.
