Average annual wage in Washington up to $47,153

Published 9:34 am Thursday, June 17, 2010

OLYMPIA — The state Employment Security Department says the average annual wage in Washington increased 1.9 percent last year to $47,153.

The department said today the loss of thousands of low-paying jobs contributed to the raise.

The average is used to compute jobless benefits, so they’ll be going up next month. The minimum weekly benefit will increase by $2 to $135 and the maximum will increase $10 to $570.

The average annual wage also is used to compute employers’ unemployment taxes and workers’ compensation benefits.