Idahoans Earned less During Recession

A new report says more people have been earning less in Idaho during the recession. The latest survey of wages under the Occupational Employment Statistics program put the average wage for all jobs in Idaho at $18.56 an hour in May 2010. That was 15 percent below the national average wage for all jobs. The median wage was $14.54 an hour in 2010, 12 percent below the national median. By comparison, the average Idaho wage in 2009 was $18.23 an hour, 14.6 percent below the national average, while the median wage was $14.44 an hour, 10.5 percent of the national median. Idaho began to feel the recession in earnest in the fall of 2008. That year, the average Idaho wage was $17.94 an hour, 13.3 percent below the national average, while the median wage was $14.32 an hour, 8.7 percent of the national median.