Largest pay gains in Delaware and Maryland

Among the States, Delaware and Maryland experienced the largest percentage increases in pay from 2000 to 2001 (5.2 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively).

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The next highest pay increases occurred in Vermont (4.6 percent) and Louisiana (4.5 percent). In the District of Columbia, annual pay rose by 5.8 percent in 2001.

In general, pay gains among the States declined sharply in 2001, compared with the previous year. In 2000, annual pay grew by at least 4 percent in 30 States and the District of Columbia, whereas only 11 States and the District of Columbia reached this growth rate in 2001.

California experienced the largest slowdown in pay growth among all the States, moving from a 9.6-percent increase in 2000 to a 0.4-percent increase in 2001. In the U.S. overall, average annual pay rose by just 2.5 percent in 2001, compared with 5.9 percent in 2000.

These data are a product of the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. The data are for all workers covered by State and Federal unemployment insurance programs. Data for 2001 are preliminary and subject to revision. For more information on pay in 2001, see "Average Annual Pay By State and Industry, 2001," news release USDL 02-540.