Lancaster County workers are low on dough.

Average weekly pay here is well below the state and national averages, according to a new federal report, a fact that one local observer blamed on the mix of industries here.

The typical worker here earns $708 a week, compared with the statewide average of $849 and the national norm of $885, said the U.S. Department of Labor report issued today.

In other words, the average Lancaster County worker got 17 percent less pay than the average Pennsylvanian and 20 percent less than the average American, the report showed.

Raises here came up short, too.

The average raise here was a mere 2.2 percent over the past year, while the typical American or Pennsylvanian workers each got 5.1 percent more, the report said.

Dave Nikoloff, president of the Economic Development Co. of Lancaster County, said the new data is the latest evidence of a lingering and complicated problem.

The figures, he said, reflect the county's reliance on traditional industries such as manufacturing, agriculture and tourism.

"Those sectors are very nice to have but they're very much traditional, 20th century kinds of businesses," he said.

In contrast, counties with better-paying jobs are counties with a concentration of "new economy" industries such as life sciences, bio-medicine and financial services.

Nikoloff pointed to neighboring Chester County as a prime example of that new economy. There, the average weekly pay is $1,117.

Today's report was no surprise to Nikoloff.

Instead, it reinforced a message the nonprofit EDC has been sending since 2000, when it hired local consultant Martin Associates to look at where the local economy should go.

EDC now is in charge of a community-wide effort, named LancasterProspers, to lead the way.

"We're trying to move Lancaster County away from its reliance on its traditional base, without abandoning that traditional base," said Nikoloff.

But the challenges are substantial.

Workers need training. Sites need to be available. And, of course, jobs need to be created, by wooing new firms here or helping firms already here to grow.

"We're trying to move those statistics. But it takes time — and a concerted effort. It's tough. It's a big boat to turn," he said.

"It takes a long time for an economy this size, with a quarter of a million people in the workforce, to make changes and transition itself to a more diverse economy," Nikoloff added.

The U.S. Department of Labor report looked at average wages of all workers, both hourly and salaried, in the first quarter of this year.

The numbers were submitted to the state by employers as part of their unemployment insurance reporting requirements, explained regional economist Gerald Perrins.

It found that not only did Lancaster County workers fare poorly when compared to the state and national norms but also when compared to other large counties (with 75,000 or more workers).

Lancaster County's average wage ranked 15th out of 19 large counties in Pennsylvania and 253rd out of 328 large counties in the nation. That's roughly in the bottom fourth.

The average raise here was tied for last, with Cumberland County, among the large counties in the state. It ranked 261st among the large counties in the nation.

• CONTACT US: tmekeel@LNPnews.com or 481-6030