Rising federal pay levels helped Maryland workers retain their rank as the nation's 10th-highest in average pay in 1993 despite the state's being far below the national average in job creation since the recession ended.
The average pay of Marylanders covered by state and federal unemployment compensation insurance was 2 percent higher in than in 1992, reaching a new annual high of $27,684, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. That ranked the state No. 10 among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
"A few years ago, we were No. 5, so we've slipped five places since the 1980s, but the fact that we are still as high as No. 10
even after the beating we've taken in the recession shows the tremendous strength Maryland had going into 1990," said Michael A. Conte, director of regional economic studies at the University of Baltimore.
Maryland's 2 percent income growth was 24th strongest in the country and slightly faster than the national average, which was 1.8 percent, BLS said.
The state's increase was boosted by the fact that Maryland has far larger numbers of government employees than most states. Government employees' pay rose by 2.8 percent in 1993, a full percentage point more than private-sector employees.
The District of Columbia, already No. 1 in average pay level in BLS reports, also had the biggest increase in 1993, at 3.3 percent. Its 1993 average pay of $39,199 was more than $6,000 ahead of second-ranked Connecticut.
In most recent years, private pay levels have risen faster than public, but last year's trend was affected by the fact that many private-sector employers paid 1993 bonuses and other lump-sum payments in 1992 in order to help employees avoid higher tax rates that went into effect in 1993.
Those early payments fattened total incomes in 1992, making its 5.4-percent jump the biggest annual increase for U.S. workers in the seven years BLS has compiled the figures.
But for Maryland, the salad years were the Reagan defense-buildup era of the late 1980s, when the state's average pay annually outgrew the nation's with increases that ranged from 4.2 percent in 1989 to 6.0 percent in 1987.
Since the 1990-1991 recession, both income and job growth have slowed in the state. In the 12 months that ended June 30, Maryland added jobs at a 0.7 percent rate, far below the national average of 2.7 percent and continuing a post-recession trend.
Within Maryland, compensation of workers in finance, insurance and real estate grew most in 1993, at 5.6 percent. Compensation construction workers grew the least, 0.1 percent.
The state's highest-paid workers in 1993 were in the wholesale trades, at $35,702, an increase of 3.0 percent over 1992.
Maryland's lowest-paid workers were in retail businesses, with an annual average pay of $15,324.