Phoenix ranks #1 for higher wage growth in 2009 (Tucson, Miami: wages, price)

[fcorrales80]

However, the metro area was among the "20-second weakest metros" for job losses. Meaning that Phoenix metro was ranked somewhere between 21-40 for most job losses. I wonder why they just didn't say where exactly in the 20-second weakest Phoenix falls. I am looking for that information.

Average pay in Valley up 2.6% for '09

by Betty Beard - Jun. 17, 2009 12:00 AM

Even as the Phoenix area had some of the worst job losses and housing price declines in the nation, its average wages recently grew the fastest in the country, said a Brookings Institution study being released today.

Average real wages grew 2.6 percent in the Phoenix area from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009, said the study, which looked at how the recession is affecting the 100 largest metro areas in the U.S. The Phoenix area ranked No. 1, and the Tucson region came in fifth, with 2.2 percent wage growth.

That may indicate that fewer lower-skilled workers have been moving to the state's two largest metro areas and that recent job losses have occurred disproportionately among lower-paying industries, said the Washington, D.C., public-policy group. Average wages typically don't fall in recessions because employers are reluctant to cut them, Brookings said.

Still, because the Phoenix and Tucson areas have experienced among the worst job losses and housing-value declines, they were both ranked among the 20 second-weakest metro areas.

Cities in the 20 strongest-performing metro areas included San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Dallas and Albuquerque.

Those in the 20 bottom cities included Las Vegas; Miami and Tampa; Sacramento; Fresno, Calif.; and Detroit. Texas cities dominated the top group, and California and Florida ranked at the bottom.

The study found that cities with concentrations of jobs in education, medicine and government appeared to be more shielded from dramatic job losses. And those more dependent on tourism, such as Las Vegas and Orlando, lost more jobs.