The Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area saw the second-highest increase in wages and salary in 2010-3.2 percent-according to a study recently released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that analyzed 15 major metro areas.

The local increase was slightly behind the national leader, Houston, which saw a 3.4 percent increase in 2010. Nationwide, wages and salaries increased 1.8 percent. Last year, the Minneapolis-St. Paul area saw a mere 1.1 percent increase in wages and salaries.

Total compensation-which includes wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits-increased 2.8 percent in the metro area, a substantial increase from last year when there was just a 0.3 percent increase.

Nationally, total compensation increased 2.1 percent. Detroit recorded the largest increase in total compensation at 4.2 percent, while Los Angeles recorded the smallest increase at 1 percent.

The BLS also released a national report of labor productivity, which stated that productivity increased 3.6 percent in the United States in 2010. The organization does not track labor productivity on a regional level.