Wage growth

The two campaigns sparred about more than the raw jobs numbers. Mr. Jealous also contends that wage growth in Maryland has lagged behind the region and the nation under Mr. Hogan’s tenure. The governor was on the defensive about that even before his opponent raised it as an issue; he accused one of the reporters asking questions during the debate of having her facts wrong with a question about stagnant paychecks. Mr. Hogan countered that wages are up 9 percent since he took office.

He’s right about that if you .a) round up from 8.5 percent and b.) count from January 2015 to August 2018 and ignore the lack of seasonal adjustment for that particular data set. (Wages tend to be higher in the summer.) That figure is substantially better than the comparable period in Governor O’Malley’s second term, though forces outside his control, like federal sequestration, played a big part in that. But once again, Mr. Jealous is right to point to the regional and national context. During that time, wages grew by 9.5 percent nationally and 10 percent in Virginia. If Maryland had Virginia’s wage growth during that time, the average Marylander’s earnings would be about $700 higher this year.

Other measures