The Jay Weber Show

The Jay Weber Show

Jay Weber knows what you want to talk about. His show examines the big issues, trends, and events at all levels -- local, state, and national -- from...Full Bio

 

Low-earning Americans are seeing the biggest wage gains in a decade

Wages for rank-and-file workers are rising at the fastest pace in more than a decade, a sign that one of the tightest labormarkets in recent history is beginning to incentivize employers to increase pay.

Pay for the bottom 25 percent of wage earners, who account for 82 percent of the population, rose 4.5 percent in November from the year-ago period, according to data published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. That’s the highest since July 2008. Wages for top earners, meanwhile, rose just 2.9 percent last month.

Overall, wages have accelerated this year by an average of 3.6 percent, as unemployment dropped, once again, to a half-century low. For employers, low employment means fewer people are looking for a job, limiting the supply of available employees and increasing competition to get the best workers.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the ratio of unemployed people to job openings is less than 1-to-1, compared to a decade ago, when it was 6-to-1.

The complete story from Fox News here > Low-earning Americans are seeing the biggest wage gains in a decade


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