Wage gains for most Chattanooga workers outpaced inflation last year as the average annual pay for all workers in the Chattanooga metropolitan area rose to a record high of $54,480 in May 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In its annual report on occupational wages, the bureau said the mean wage for Chattanooga workers rose by more than 4.8% in the year ending last May to an average of $26.19 an hour, or $1.21 an hour more than the average wage paid in Chattanooga a year earlier.
Most of those wage increases were offset by the 4% increase in overall prices during the same 12-month period. Adjusted for inflation, the average Chattanooga received a slight increase in real pay of about 21 cents an hour last year.
The typical Chattanooga worker earned nearly 17% less than the U.S. average annual pay of $65,470 last May, the bureau reported.
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