By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
This is the third article in our 10 part series reporting on contract settlement trends. This article highlights some of the recent economic developments most likely to impact your negotiations outlook.
Archives for December 2016
December 18, 2016 by
Wage Series Part 2: Recent Wage Settlement Trends in Washington Public Safety Labor Contracts — An Ever So Slightly Rising Trend Line
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
This is the second part of our 10 part Fall 2016 wage series. In this article we take a look at recent contract settlements and examine how those trends vary from recent previous years. Our view of 2015 and 2016 settlements and what we have so far from 2017 indicates that the Washington State public sector wages are a mirror of national wage stagnation. We see some wage increases with little substantial “real wage” growth (as measured once controlled for inflation). Whether a growing economy eventually will accelerate these is something we’ll discuss later in this series.
December 16, 2016 by
Wage Series Part 1: Latest CPI Shows Seattle and All Cities CPI on the Rise
By Jim Cline and Kate Kremer
The latest inflation reports show CPI on the rise. In the last two month reporting period the Seattle CPI (W) has jumped from 2.0% to 2.6% and the All-Cities (W) has doubled from 0.7% to 1.4%.
This is the first of an 11 part series addressing current economic conditions and wage settlement trends. In this Fall 2016 Wage Series we’ll bring you an update on CPI and economic developments, wage settlements, interest arbitration trends, statewide wage rankings for public safety classifications across the State, and an in-depth analysis of what factors appear to be impacting those rankings and settlements.
