Median Income Falling for Ohioans
Posted September 03, 2011 in Press Releases
Dayton Daily News
Ohio workers’ median hourly wages fell by nearly a dollar an hour over the past
decade, the sharpest decline among the 10 states that saw median hourly wages shrink from
2000 to 2010, according to a report released this Labor Day weekend.
At the same time, U.S. nonfarm business productivity grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent.
“We are wealthy enough to have good jobs at decent wages for every Ohio worker,” said Amy
Hanauer, executive director of the liberal-leaning Policy Matters and author of the report
titled The State of Working Ohio. “But that isn’t happening. The economy is growing, but
the average worker isn’t getting much of that growth.’’
Ohio workers’ median wages fell from $16.02 to $15.16 an hour, according to the report. The
Ohio figure, based on 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars, was also well below the $16-an-hour
national median