Ongoing job cuts in the oil business, for example, have kept a lid on wage gains for that industry, where hourly workers are making just 0.8 percent more than they did a year ago.
Workers in high-demand tech jobs are faring much better. Hourly earnings in the Information sector are up 4.3 percent from a year ago.
Even relatively low-skilled jobs such as restaurant and hotel positions are seeing strong gains as those industries continue to add jobs.
In the last year, payrolls in the Bureau of Labor Statistics leisure and hospitality sector have rise by 2.7 percent, one of the fastest-growing industries. Hourly wages for those workers are up 3.9 percent, just shy of the gains for high-tech jobs.
Still, those industry averages don't tell the whole story; a lot depends on where you work. One of the starkest income divides is playing out between rural and urban workers, where high-growth cities are creating some of the best-paying jobs with the biggest salary increases.
"There a huge urban-rural divide today in wage growth," said Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist at Glassdoor, a job-listing site that collects salary data. "It's becoming harder to earn a living wage and have a fulfilling career in rural areas."