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While the headline jobs print was a modest kneejerk disappointment at least until it is appropriately spun in some sort of "goldilocks" frame, where the October jobs report was a true disappointment, was in the report of average hourly earnings: rising at just 0.1% for the month and 2.0% Y/Y, it missed expectations across both metrics. As a reminder, even Janet Yellen has observed that with the unemployment rate ridiculously low and thus meaningless to shape policy, the key thing the Fed head is watching is any changes in wages to determine where benign wage inflation is headed. Well,...

I recently wrote about sluggish and stagnant wages, which are said to weaken the economy's recovery. I argued that workers' fear of losing their jobs is an important - perhaps decisive - explanation. In a nutshell: Frightened of being fired and being unable to find a new job, workers are less inclined to quit and search for something better. Therefore, employers don't have to raise wages, or can raise them less, to retain their best workers. Wage gains have been running at about 2 percent annually, a bit above the rate of inflation. There are many competing theories. The most...

In discussing U.S. immigration policy on Monday’s “Laura Ingraham Show,” U.S. Senate Tom Cotton (R-AR) cited illegal immigration as a “major issue” in his race in Arkansas, while also pointing out that based upon non-partisan analysis, the so called Gang of Eight bill previously passed by the Senate "would both drive down wages in America and increase unemployment". "I think we need to get Americans back to work before we worry about increasing the number of guest workers, or temporary visa holders we have in the country," he added. “In so many ways, this bill is just like Obamacare --...

The Social Security Administration has just released wage statistics for 2013, and the numbers are startling.  Last year, 50 percent of all American workers made less than $28,031, and 39 percent of all American workers made less than $20,000.  If you worked a full-time job at $10 an hour all year long with two weeks off, you would make $20,000.  So the fact that 39 percent of all workers made less than that amount is rather telling.  This is more evidence of the declining quality of the jobs in this country.  In many homes in America today, both parents are...

With the September jobs report, perhaps one of the most irrelevant monthly updates from the BLS in a long time, due out in less than half an hour, BofA's Chart of the Day looks at what has become the most sticky issue in the monthly jobs report of late: where the inflation-adjusted income growth, or lack thereof, can be found. What it finds is that the average American can still hope for rising real wages: they just have to be massively underwater on unrepayable student debt. To wit:  As of 2013, the median income for college graduates was about $80,000...

NEW YORK (AP) — Police handcuffed dozens of protesters in cities around the country on Thursday as they blocked traffic in the latest attempt to escalate their efforts to get McDonald's, Burger King and other fast-food companies to pay their employees at least $15 an hour. The protests, which were planned by labor organizers for about 150 cities nationwide throughout Thursday, are part of a campaign called "Fight for $15."

On the surface, California's job market is booming. The state has now recovered all the jobs lost during the recession, and done so at a faster pace than all but five states. The growth, though, belies a troubling imbalance. The fastest job creation has come in low-wage sectors, in which pay has declined. At the high end of the salary scale, a different dynamic has taken hold: rising pay and improving employment after rounds of consolidation. Most distressing, middle-wage workers are losing out on both counts. "People talk about it like an hourglass," said Tracey Grose, vice president of the...

Would you like to own a small business someday? If so, sorry — the Service Employees International Union would rather you didn’t. The SEIU has convinced the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to eviscerate the franchising model that many small-business owners rely on.Under the current model, these small-business owners pay for the right to use a corporate brand. The franchising corporation researches appealing products. It also does marketing to promote the brand. In return, the local franchisees agree to produce those products to fit certain price and quality specifications. The local franchisee handles all the hiring and employment.

Tragically, the inability of our institutions to impart the skills required by the emerging economy hobble not just the unemployed but employers. A reader recently offered a compelling reason why total compensation costs (wages plus benefits/payroll taxes) could rise even in a stagnant economy with millions available for work: many of those who have been out of work for a long time (or have yet to hold a formal job) are unqualified by experience and professionalism to perform the work that is available. This is a complex topic, so let's separate the key issues. 1. Inability to perform the available work successfully on...

Ed Yardeni, Dr. Ed's BlogAugust 4, 2014 Yardeni chart Aug 4, Dr. Ed's Blog The US economy appears on my worry list only indirectly and only because it is performing well, showing no signs of a recession. That’s bearish only if the Fed’s response of starting to raise interest rates in baby steps triggers an unanticipated financial crisis simply because interest rates have been too close to zero for too long. A rush out of corporate bond funds could be one of the consequences with recessionary consequences, or maybe not. It’s something to watch. For now, let the good times...

Once again, one man has dictated a major change of federal law that can cost American families dearly. It may double the price of your Big Mac, Whopper, fried chicken, donuts or other purchases at your local fast-food restaurant. Where’s the beef coming from? Surprise! This time it’s neither President Obama nor Attorney General Eric Holder who is twisting the law like a pretzel from Auntie Anne’s. It’s Obama appointee Richard Griffin, the president’s hand-picked choice for the all-powerful position as general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Mr. Griffin has declared that millions of Americans who work...

Hey, do you remember when Michigan shocked the nation and became a right to work state in 2012? That was supposed to usher in the end of the world, at least in the view of union leaders and their Democrat water carriers. As Thomas Lifson reminds us at The American Thinker, the predictions were nigh on to apocalyptic. “There will be blood, there will be repercussions,” State Democratic Rep. Douglas Geiss, speaking on the House floor on Tuesday, warned ahead of the votes. And of course, there were predictions of disaster for the “little guy” as ruthless bosses would exploit...

Myles UdlandJuly 27, 2014 Wage growth is close to not being growth at all. On August 1, we'll get the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Last month, the report showed that the economy added 288,000 jobs in June, with wages growing 2% year of year. Unfortunately, when taking into account the rate of inflation, "real" wage growth was flat. In Business Insider's latest Most Important Charts In The World feature, Ellen Zentner, senior U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley, highlighted the following chart, which shows how real wage growth has slowed to, well, no growth at all.(snip)(snip)

Another Obama record… AMERICANS GETTING POORER – HOUSEHOLD NET WORTH IN DECLINE.The median household net worth under Obama is one-third what it was during the Bush years. Under Barack Obama American households are worth two-thirds of what they were worth under George W. Bush. The New York Times reported: Economic inequality in the United States has been receiving a lot of attention. But it’s not merely an issue of the rich getting richer. The typical American household has been getting poorer, too. The inflation-adjusted net worth for the typical household was $87,992 in 2003. Ten years later, it was only...

VILLA PARK, Ill. — Comparing their campaign to the civil rights movement, fast food workers from across the country voted today to escalate their efforts for $15-an-hour pay and union membership to include nonviolent civil disobedience. More than 1,300 workers gathered in a convention in center in suburban Chicago to discuss the future of a campaign that has spread to dozens of cities in less than two years. Wearing T-shirts that said “Fight for $15” and “We Are Worth More,” the workers cheered loudly and said they would win if they stuck together. “People are just fed up,” said Cindy...

Although there are many signs the economy is improving, average weekly wages in the United States remained stagnant throughout 2013. This was a notable change from a year earlier, when weekly wages rose 4.7% over the same period. Despite flattening nationally, wages posted strong growth in some metro areas. In six of the 10 metro areas, wages grew at least 6%. In Idaho Falls, wages grew by 18.4% between the fourth quarters of 2012 and 2013. Based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), these are the metro areas where wages are soaring.Click here to see the 10...

The Environmental Protection Agency is rescinding regulations allowing the agency to garnish wages of those it says are delinquent on debts. A notice to be published in Thursday’s Federal Register formally withdraws the rule, issued earlier in the month. “In the direct final rule, EPA stated that if adverse comments were received by August 1, 2014, the direct final rule would be withdrawn and not take effect,” according to the terse notice. “EPA received adverse comments on that direct final rule.” However, the agency did not rule out proceeding with another version of the measure via a more deliberative rulemaking...

1. Historically, when Capacity Utilization is as high as its now (suggesting not much industrial slack) the inflation rate has been much higher. 2. According to survey data from the National Federation of Independent Businesses, more and more companies are saying they can't find qualified applicants for job openings. 3. Survey data shows a big increase in the number of businesses who say they plan to raise wages in the future.

The headline of today’s jobs report, that 288,000 jobs were created in the last month, is positive. At least, it is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. However, as with most economic reports these days, there is a veneer of good news — but when you look closer, the White House is using the positive headlines to hide the growing deterioration of the American workforce. Last month, 523,000 full-time jobs were lost, while 799,000 part-time jobs were added. Another way of looking at these numbers is that almost all of the 288,000 jobs created last...

With the liability of being forced to finance employees' abortions taken off its back by the recent Supreme Court voiding of the Obamacare mandate, Hobby Lobby announced it is raising the minimum wage of its full-time employees to $14.50 per hour. Aspiring presidential candidate Hillary Clinton dubbed the move "a callous and insensitive slap in the face to American women. This company went to a lot of effort to deny its responsibility to insure the reproductive health of its female employees. Now that they've won a totally unfair verdict in court they're insulting these imperiled women by investing the costs...