Reply #20: Wage growth accelerates in November [View All]

[rfranklin]

Wage growth accelerates in November
Real consumer spending rises 0.2%Story

By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Compensation earned by U.S. workers rose 0.3% in November, another signal that labor markets are slowly improving, the Commerce Department estimated Wednesday.

The increase in wages and salaries was the best since April, and helped to push up total personal incomes by 0.4% in November to an annual rate of $12.2 trillion, the biggest gain since May and in line with expectations of economists. See Economic Calendar.

Income earned by owners of small businesses increased 1.2% after a 1.4% gain in October, reversing several quarters of declines.

After inflation, after-tax disposable incomes rose 0.2% in November for the third straight month. Real incomes had fallen for much of the recession.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-wage-growth-accelerates-in-november-2009-12-23-83100