San Francisco sees nice wage growth, Chicago not so much

The long cold winter in worker’s wages maybe starting to thaw.

While wage growth started the year slowly, April’s pay gains were the highest so far this year, according to the latest Glassdoor Local Pay Report.

The average wage growth in America ticked up slightly in April, rising 1.2 percent from a year ago to $51,927 per year.

The momentum indicates that the growth in wages will continue in the months ahead.

San Francisco saw the biggest pay growth up 3.7% year-over-year.

Chicago saw the lowest at 0.7% year-over-year.

“It’s good news for roles where pay has slowed and means jobs within already high-demand fields such as health care, e-commerce and certain finance jobs, can expect to see even bigger boosts in wages in the coming months,” said Glassdoor Chief Economist Dr. Andrew Chamberlain. “We’re beginning to see strengthening pay in traditionally lower-paying jobs -- from bank teller and security officer to retail cashier -- a sign that today’s strong labor market may be starting to improve pay across the income spectrum.”

April’s growth is still below the 2-3 percent pace seen in recent years, according to the latest real-time salary data shared by millions of Americans on Glassdoor.

Wage gains hit a low in January 2018 at 0.7 percent pay growth and have rebounded to 1.2 percent year over year in April.