LogFAQs > #933254847

Re: Wages/Economy

Not adjusting for inflation, wage growth is at 3.2% YOY which is a bit below where it was pre-Recession. (Actually wage growth spikes right as the recession hits peaking right around Obama's inauguration before it drops to around 2%. It then sloooooooooowly climbs back up over the remainder of his term and was roughly 2.5%ish when it ended). It's actually down over the past few months though.

If you correct for inflation then YOY from November they're up only 1.1%. Economists don't seem to have a definitive answer for why wage growth is so weak (and indeed, decelerating in recent months) when unemployment is so low. Theories range from growing healthcare costs to people in the 25-54 age range not having jobs - the employment-to-population ratio of that group is 80% which is roughly 2007 levels but below 2000 and could act as a wage suppressor.

Meanwhile on the economy writ-large the share of GDP going to labor tanked during the Great Recession (well it really began to tank around 2000 but the Great Recession kicked out the bottom) and has never recovered and is chilling around a 70-year low.

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