New data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says workers in the Bakersfield area are earning six percent below the national average wage of $22.71 an hour.

Matthew Insco is with the agency’s San Francisco office and says local pay rates are going up, but the gap remains.

“Last year at this time, you were still six percent below the national average, but the hourly rate was $20.98,” he said. “It’s gone up to $21.35 cents this year.”

Insco says the gap is there because of a lack of higher-paying jobs in Bakersfield.

– Anthony Pollreisz