Wages in Virginia Fell in 2011, Report Says
Median household income in 2011 was down 4.2 percent from 2007.
Virginia wages dropped last year to levels not seen since 2007, before the nation’s economic downturn, according to a new study. The Commonwealth Institute reports that Virginia’s median hourly wage fell from just under $18.50 in 2010 to $17.64 in 2011, a 4 percent decrease – the largest single year decline in the past decade. Median household income was also down considerably. In 2011, the median income was $61,882, a 4.2 decrease from the pre-recession peak of $64,628 in 2007. Wage cuts were felt across all income levels in 2011, according to the report. But the Commonwealth’s top 10 percent of earners were hit the hardest, seeing a decline in wages of about 4.4 percent. Wages only fell 2.5 percent nationally. Stephen Fuller, an …
