The coronavirus pandemic apparently helped wages in Lincoln County increase much more than the rest of Oregon in 2021, according to a new report from the Oregon Employment Department.
That’s the good news.
The bad news? Inflation in 2021 and 2022 will eat up much of that increase.
The new report by regional economist Erik Knoder covers wages for workers who have unemployment insurance, which excludes self-employed workers and a few others such as real estate brokers who are paid by commission.
Knoder said the average wage across all of Oregon increased by 6.8 percent — $4,097 from 2020 to 2021.
The increases in the average wages in the five counties of northwest Oregon ranged from 8.7 percent in Lincoln County to 5.8 percent in Tillamook County.
“Increases in wages of this much are unusual,” Knoder said.
From 2010 through 2020 wages increased by an average of 3.7 percent per year for all of Oregon – about the same for the five counties in northwest Oregon.
Still, because of it’s tourist-dependent economy, Lincoln County’s average annual wage is substantially below the statewide average. In 2021 the average annual wage in Lincoln County was $46,068 compared with the Oregon average of $64,018.
Although wages increased in 2021, inflation is also increasing rapidly for many workers, Knoder said. The U.S. Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners rose by 5.3 percent in 2021.
In 2022 the situation for workers is not looking as rosy, Knoder said.
Data are available for only part of the year, but for the first half of 2022 wages were on trend to increase 1.9 percent over the year statewide. Unfortunately, inflation seems to be on a trend to increase between 7.5 percent and 8 percent for 2022, Knoder said in his report.
