US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports average hourly wage growth has surpassed inflation for 12 straight months
US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports average hourly wage growth has surpassed inflation for 12 straight months
Average hourly wage growth has exceeded inflation for 12 straight months, according to new Bureau of Labor Statistics data released this morning. This real (or inflation-adjusted) wage growth is a key indicator of how well the average worker’s wage can improve their standard of living. As inflation ...
Too bad the inflation number they're using is exactly what the whole 'lies, damn lies, and statistics' saying is talking about.
yeah my raises have been like 2% still and food is double what it used to be.
That's not incompatible with what they said. They're saying that the rate of wage increases over the last year outpaced inflation. They also ran below inflation during the COVID-19 crisis.
COVID-19's impact started in 2020.
looks at graph in article
Okay, though it looks like inflation only took off in early 2021.
They're saying that from June 2023 to June 2024, real wages increased. But they also decreased for about two years prior to that, from a couple months into 2021 until about halfway through 2023 -- you can see the dark blue line being below 0 for that period (or, equivalently, that the medium blue line was above the light blue line). Halfway through 2023, it then rises above 0, and has been above since that point. But the period of time that it was decreasing (a bit over two years) was about twice as long as the one year that it's been increasing, and during that decrease period, was decreasing faster than it increased over the last year. So they're rebounding, but they won't be where they were immediately prior to the crisis.
The article is talking macroeconomics, you're talking microeconomics. Two different worlds.
Now do median
Median earnings grew faster than inflation every quarter between Q2 2022 and Q4 2023, a year and a half straight. Ticked down in Q1 2024 but basically back to pre pandemic levels.
No one in this thread actually wants answers to their questions. They wanna bitch and moan. What are you thinking?
I would like so see the median also.
I wonder what the average income is for US families if one was to remove all the billionaires from the statistic.
I can’t wait for that train to come to town.
The real median household income in the United States for 2022 was $74,580, which represents a 2.3 percent decline from the 2021 estimate of $76,3301. This figure is based on money income, which is pretax and does not account for the value of in-kind transfers. It’s important to note that this calculation excludes billionaires and focuses on the broader population.
It seems that they are already excluded for some reason.
Lol I hate to break it to you homie but billionaires are not paid in hourly wages so they are excluded from this report.
It's so nice to be leaving another historic, traumatic crisis and entering another depressing normal, where we get to live out our tedious, soul crushing lives while we await the next crisis.
Not this citizen here, though. This "tal" is a real patriot, sharing half-assed hopium around like smearing shit on his teeth and grinning at us all. 🤦🏼
ITT: I haven’t personally experienced it so this is not true.
I wonder if y’all realize how like conservatives you are sometimes.
Personal experience, speaking with the community and hearing their experiences mean nothing. Believe what the owner class says at all times.
I get what you are implying but it really isn't relevant. Economics is just someone's opinion at best, more often than not it is propaganda, lying with math. Not at all the same as the vaccine nutters or global warming denying.
The hole was really deep. And that inflation from Covid didn't go away. Beating inflation now does not negate losing to inflation then. You have to beat inflation that much harder to both gain now and make up for previous losses.
For who?
For people making the statistical average hourly wage growth. If your wage gains are less than the numerical average of everyone else, its your employers fault, not the Bureau of Labor Statistics
Is that why I was fired after training my replacement that was paid less than me? Is that why nobody is paying the amount I was formerly paid for my skill set now?
Cuz, from my point of view, nobody wants to train and nobody wants to pay employees what they’re worth.
Not sure who down voted you ... I guess people really don't have to work lol
Talk about privilege
loud. sustained fart sounds yeah right
I got some oceanfront property in Arizona. I'd be glad to sell you.
And your employer will be happy to give you a raise that is less than the statistical average of other people.
And how much of that is minimum wage going up? Don't get me wrong I love that. But going from 15k to 20k a year is going from drowning to clinging to a piece driftwood. The full time annual take home needs to be around 40k-50k per person with all the decades of negative real wages.
And the name of the person running that department? Albert Einstein. Now everyone clap
looks at graph
Real wages are still below inflation. Nominal wage growth is what is above inflation.
Which means people are getting more money but it is worth less.
This means economic growth is down, and therefore the overall economy is demonstrably not in good shape.
*Edit To add from the article:
Nominal wage growth is the year-over-year growth in wages, not adjusted for inflation.
So... this doesn't mean a whole lot then.
Nominal is more than inflation so real is above 0.
Real just has to be above 0 for inflation adjusted wages to be going up.
I still call bullshit though without knowing where the increases are. All the increases could be in the top 10% with everyone else going down and only the average is above 0.
Edit: I was wrong, the growth is actually weighted toward the lower end.
The "real wages" is just the difference between the nominal wages and inflation. It's negative when wages have increased but not as much as inflation, and positive when they've increased more than inflation.
So the literal number of dollars people are getting have been going up the whole time, but for a while there the amount of stuff your money could buy you was going down anyway. It's recently the case that the amount of stuff you could buy has been going up. Not, you know, a lot, but...
Real wages are still below inflation.
That is impossible since 'real wages' are the difference between nominal wages and inflation.
Nominal wage growth is what is above inflation.
Which is another way to say that real wages (after inflation) are going up.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Policy_Institute
This is a pro Union and pro labour org
But this inflation shill is hard to reconcile tbh
The last time I looked the real impressive growth was at the lowest ends of the labor market. Effectively it's state minimum wage increases hitting. Everyone above minimum wage is far less affected by this. But you do have to go looking for that kind of information. Leadership wants to look at the line go up and cheer, not understanding that the person making the median isn't really affected by this. the other fun thing is since it's mostly minimum wage movement, they aren't suddenly being able to afford stuff. They're still getting crushed by inflation like most people.
Which is great... lower end is who needs income improvement he most.
However, this is not a W overall and neither side is able to really provide any plans how to fix structural issues.
More Perfect Union is another example who is shilling biden recently, i mean i get it... but labor orgs push it too hard, they will lose credibility imho.
Democratic party is not pro labour, neither is Biden. If people can make their choices, i don't get my these orgs are taking this risk.
Christ, don't encourage the Federal Reserve to print even more money.