Fargo Forum: North Dakota Shows Continued Growth in Average Compensation Per Job.

Fargo, ND - The average compensation per job in North Dakota rose to $39,077 in 2006, an increase of 4.3 percent per year, on average, since 1998. This average annual growth was the 10th largest in the nation behind eight states and the District of Columbia. During the same time frame, inflation grew an average of 2.7 percent per year.

“These data are exciting news for North Dakota because they tell us two things,” says Richard Rathge, North Dakota State Data Center director at North Dakota State University. “First, our buying power, on average, is increasing since our compensation is greatly outpacing inflation. Second, we are making important strides in reducing the income disparity between North Dakota and the U.S.”

Employee compensation consists of wage and salary disbursements, employer contributions to employee pension and insurance funds, and employer contributions for government social insurance.

On average, employer contributions (supplements to wages and salaries) in North Dakota grew faster than actual wages and salaries from 1998 through 2006. Supplements in the state grew an average of 6.8 percent annually since 1998, while wages and salaries grew an average of 5.3 percent.

This month’s “Population Bulletin,” a monthly publication from the North Dakota State Data Center at NDSU, focuses on average compensation per job data released from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) at www.bea.gov. The BEA provides compensation data for the nation, states and counties, plus metropolitan and micropolitan areas.

Nationally, compensation per job increased an average of 4.1 percent per year from 1998 through 2006, reaching $51,861 in 2006. In North Dakota, the average compensation per job for all 53 counties grew at least 3 percent per year, on average, since 1998. Six counties, all in the western part of the state (Williams, Billings, Burke, Slope, Divide and Bowman), grew an average of at least 6 percent annually.

While compensation in North Dakota is experiencing consistent and positive growth, the average compensation of $39,077 earned in North Dakota still lags behind most states and was 24.7 percent below the national average of $51,861 in 2006. Three other states had lower averages than North Dakota. The three states are Mississippi ($38,787), Montana ($38,661) and South Dakota ($37,339). The District of Columbia had the highest average compensation per job in 2006 ($88,044), followed by New York ($66,262) and Connecticut ($65,638).

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