The U.S. Virgin Islands recorded more gross job gains than gross job losses during the third quarter of 2014, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Gross job gains amounted to 6.3 percent of V.I. employment, compared to 6.2 percent in the United States, according to the BLS. The third quarter 2014 rate of gross job losses in the U.S. Virgin Islands was 5.5 percent, compared to 5.8 percent in the United States.
Workers in the territory had an average (mean) hourly wage of $16.81 in May 2014, about 26 percent below the nationwide average of $22.71, according to the report.
BLS Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli said 20 out of 22 occupational groups in the U.S. Virgin Islands had wages below U.S. averages.
Other highlights from today’s release include:
– Office and administrative support, protective service, and building and grounds maintenance were among the occupational groups that made up greater shares of total employment in the local area than in the U.S. mainland;
– The U.S. Virgin Islands had more than 8,000 jobs in office and administrative support, accounting for 16.0 percent of local area employment;
– Among the higher-paying jobs were first-line supervisors of office and administrative workers, executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants, with mean hourly wages of $24.15 and $21.26, respectively.