DALLAS -- A rising economic tide is lifting workers' pay, especially in Dallas County, Texas.
Private-sector workers in Dallas saw average wages rise by 5.1% in the 12 months that ended in September, according to newly released federal data. It was the biggest increase for the period since 2016, and Dallas County's rise surpassed the average gain for the rest of the country.
That's a reverse of a recent trend. In four of the previous five years, wage growth in Dallas County had lagged behind increases nationwide.
"We've been waiting for Dallas-Fort Worth employers to catch up with rest of the U.S.," said Cheryl Abbot, regional economist for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Perhaps paying higher wages is the only way for them to get employees."
Last year, the Dallas-Forth Worth area added almost 128,000 jobs, more than any metropolitan area, including much larger New York and Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the Dallas metro area was 2.9% at the end of 2019, the lowest level in two decades.
The combination of strong demand for workers and an historically low unemployment rate has created what many employers have called a war for talent. That description is often used when talking about recruiting technology workers, in particular.
Indeed, pay for Dallas-Fort Worth's information sector rose 6% for the year that ended in September, more than twice the increase for the rest of the U.S.
But year-over-year wage gains were even higher for professional and business services, a broad sector that accounts for more jobs than any other in Dallas-Fort Worth. It includes accountants, lawyers, managers, computer system designers and administrative support staff.
In Dallas County, almost 367,000 people worked in professional and business services at the end of September. Their average weekly wage rose 6.5%, over 2 percentage points more than the increase nationwide.
One contributing factor was rising demand. Jobs in professional and business services grew 3.7% there, almost three times faster than in the rest of the U.S.
A similar story played out in the leisure and hospitality industry, which includes hotels and restaurants and is the lowest-paid of the large job groups. Average weekly wages rose 7.2% in Dallas, over 2 percentage points more than nationwide. And leisure and hospitality jobs grew 3.6% there, three times faster than in the U.S.
"It's harder to find top talent than at any time in my 20 years in the business," said Mark Malone, a senior regional vice president for Robert Half in Dallas, a major staffing company.
In a Robert Half survey released last week, 62% of respondents from Dallas said they negotiated a higher salary with their last job offer, up from 55% a year ago. Dallas ranked No. 5 among 28 cities, Malone said, and that's an indication of workers' growing clout in the local labor market.
"Most people we're working with have multiple job offers, and that's partly why they have the confidence to negotiate" with employers, Malone said.
His firm places thousands of Dallas-Fort Worth workers in accounting and finance, information technology and legal, administrative and creative services. They care about health benefits and other perks, he said: "But pay is generally at the top of the list."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics data released last week, which was through September, was taken from its quarterly census of employment and wages, a count reported by employers. It covers more than 95% of U.S. jobs.
The release included a breakdown of results by industry for the 10 largest counties in the U.S.
Dallas County had the largest wage gains among the group.
Business on 02/26/2020