Average state wage near $55,000
OLYMPIA -- If you made more than $54,829 last year, you're above average.
That's what the state Employment Security Department said this morning in reporting the average state wage went up about 4.2 percent in 2014. If you worked in information, the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, or retail trade, chances are you saw the biggest increase.
Total earnings were up, too, to about $161.5 trillion.
This isn't a Lake Woebegone sort of measurement, where everyone should be strong, beautiful and above average. The average wage is used to calculate unemployment benefits, which is 15 percent of the average wage. So the minimum unemployment benefit will go to $158 a week on July 5, up from $158, and the maximum to $664, up from $637.
