The PayScale Index (US) follows the change in wages of employed US workers, revealing trends in compensation for jobs over time. It specifically measures the quarterly change in the total cash compensation of full-time private industry employees nationally, with additional detail on the 20 largest metropolitan areas, 15 industries, 19 job categories and three company sizes.

2011: National wage levels trended up in 2011. Though suffering a flat start to the year, wages didn’t drop and instead managed to hold onto gains from 2010. Then, in Q3, a quarterly rise of 0.6 percent was followed by a similar bump in Q4, bringing national wage levels up about 1 percent for the year. If this quarter-over-quarter growth trend continues, earnings should rise at a 2 percent annual rate in the coming year, bringing wage increases closer to the approximately 3 percent annual increases typical before the recession.

2007-2010: During 2007 and 2008, national wages increased over 5 percent. As the recession worsened, at the end of 2008, wages dropped dramatically, settling on a new, lower plateau in Q2 2009 and remaining flat through 2010.

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Methodology for The PayScale Index: Trends in Compensation

The PayScale Index tracks quarterly changes in total cash compensation for full-time, private industry employees in the United States. In addition to a national index, it includes separate indices for specific industries, metropolitan areas, job categories, and company sizes. The PayScale Index uses 2006 average total cash compensation as a baseline.

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