Would you like fries with those charts?
I'm guessing that this refers to the quality of wages being paid? If so, you have an excellent point:
Series Id: CES0500000049 |
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| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 7.54 | 7.56 | 7.54 | 7.55 | 7.55 | 7.53 | 7.52 | 7.50 | 7.50 | 7.53 | 7.52 | 7.52 | |
| 1995 | 7.51 | 7.52 | 7.52 | 7.51 | 7.50 | 7.52 | 7.54 | 7.54 | 7.55 | 7.55 | 7.56 | 7.55 | |
| 1996 | 7.55 | 7.54 | 7.53 | 7.54 | 7.54 | 7.56 | 7.56 | 7.58 | 7.58 | 7.57 | 7.58 | 7.58 | |
| 1997 | 7.59 | 7.60 | 7.63 | 7.64 | 7.67 | 7.67 | 7.68 | 7.71 | 7.70 | 7.74 | 7.76 | 7.78 | |
| 1998 | 7.79 | 7.83 | 7.86 | 7.88 | 7.88 | 7.88 | 7.88 | 7.92 | 7.93 | 7.93 | 7.94 | 7.94 | |
| 1999 | 7.95 | 7.98 | 8.00 | 7.98 | 8.00 | 8.02 | 8.01 | 8.01 | 8.00 | 8.00 | 8.00 | 8.00 | |
| 2000 | 8.02 | 8.01 | 7.98 | 8.03 | 8.03 | 8.01 | 8.02 | 8.04 | 8.03 | 8.05 | 8.06 | 8.07 | |
| 2001 | 8.03 | 8.06 | 8.09 | 8.09 | 8.06 | 8.07 | 8.10 | 8.13 | 8.11 | 8.16 | 8.20 | 8.24 | |
| 2002 | 8.22 | 8.23 | 8.22 | 8.19 | 8.21 | 8.23 | 8.23 | 8.23 | 8.24 | 8.25 | 8.26 | 8.29 | |
| 2003 | 8.26 | 8.25 | 8.21 | 8.23 | 8.28 | 8.29 | 8.31 | 8.27 | 8.25 | 8.27 | 8.31 | 8.30 | |
| 2004 | 8.27 | 8.26 | 8.24 | 8.24 | 8.21 | 8.19 | 8.23 | 8.25 | 8.25 | 8.21 | 8.21 | 8.23(p) | |
| p : preliminary |
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Wages in the private sector have been stagnant for three years; in fact, from 1994-2004, in real terms they have appreciated about 9%, or less than 1% per year.
For what it is worth, the public sector pays better than the private one; average hourly wages in the public sector are just over $22. For the private sector, it's more like $16.