Real wages are having trouble keeping up with prices

[RamboLiberal]

http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/30/pf/real_wage_growth_slow/index.htm?cnn=yes

Real wages are not exactly going through the roof.

For the 24-month period through the second quarter of 2005, the inflation-adjusted wages of an average American grew just 1 percent or so, according to statistics reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Despite overall sluggish wage growth, there are still areas of strength; the majority of the 316 largest counties in the United States -- those with employee rolls of 75,000 or more -- reported average wage increases that outpaced inflation for the 24 months ended June 30, 2005, the latest county data available from the BLS. Forty four of the counties had real wage growth of 3 percent or more during the period

The BLS data is derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance legislation. The data has not been adjusted for changes that employers later reported to the BLS.

[chicofaraby]

1. And those are the BLS numbers.

The BLS always paints as rosy a picture as it can by manipulating the data. It's an administration mouthpiece. Can you imagine how bad it really is?

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. Just try and buy a house, you will see just how bad it really is.

Or get sick and need medical care.

[area51]

6. Welcome to DU, chicofaraby. (n/t)

[kurth]

2. BREAKING NEWS: Justice Alito votes to uphold debtor's prison

Record number of uninsured patients unable to pay bills.

[William Seger]

4. "an average American"

Completely pointless term. Like the old saw about when Bill Gates walks into a room, the average wealth of the people in the room shoots up incredibly, it doesn't mean a damn thing. That 1% growth simply reflects the fact that some people's income has gone up a lot in the last few years, and completely hides the fact that more than 50% of all Americans are earning less than they were 5 years ago.

[madmark]

5. wages are not keeping pace with housing value appreciation

and the resulting higher housing costs and gas price spikes; its a big piss backwards for most Americans.

[EVDebs]

7. .....and real savings are non-existent

A top heavy society with wealth concentrated in the top 1 and 1/2 percent can't be sustained.

[bullimiami]

8. how can inflation be 3% when homeowners, windstorm, flood and

health insurance all go up by double digits. some by as much as 50-60%?

[Warpy]

10. That's the real inflation rate, by the way

the CPI is held artificially low by all the crap flooding in here from the third world where the jobs we used to have producing it went bye bye.

Now food and energy are joining medical care and housing, all essentials for human beings, while those flat screen TVs from Korea that keep the CPI nice and low are not.

That'll change, though. Hold onto your hats, it's gonna be a wild ride.

[Up2Late]

9. Those are NOT the numbers I've heard. I heard this is the 5th year...

...that the "average American's real wages" have fallen (negative growth) for 5 years in a row.

Gosh, I wonder what happened 5 years ago?

[0007]

11. Living on a fixed income is tricky and next to impossible for most

seniors.

[Cobalt Violet]

12. Does that inflation count food and energy prices?

I didn't think so.

[xchrom]

13. see, this isn't exactly secret info -- so why would democratic senators --

isn't an issue like this prime democratic ground -- fight tooth and nail a pro-corporate supreme court nominee?

[UpInArms]

14. Overall compensation fell when inflation is considered

Wages Up by Smallest Amount in Nine Years

excerpt:

Last year's increase was not enough to keep up with inflation. When inflation is considered, overall compensation fell by 0.3 percent, the first time there has been a decline since 1996, when total compensation after adjusting for inflation was down by 0.4 percent.

[wordpix]

15. average American doesn't have the 40% of more increase in wages to pay for

that same rise in energy, health insurance and increasingly going up, food.

I get a 1.5% "cost of living" increase myself. hahahaha, meanwhile I have to keep my heat at 60 F.

[redqueen]

16. Wages Up by Smallest Amount in Nine Years

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060131/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy

WASHINGTON - Wages and benefits paid to civilian workers rose last year by the smallest amount in nine years, the government reported Tuesday.

The Labor Department said that employee compensation was up 3.1 percent in 2005, an increase that was slower than the 3.7 percent rise in 2004. The slowdown reflected a big drop in benefit costs — items such as health insurance and pensions — which rose by 4.5 percent last year after jumping by 6.9 percent in 2004.

The new Employment Compensation Index should ease concerns at the Federal Reserve that improving labor markets could be starting to push up wage pressures. Wages and salaries rose by 2.6 percent last year, only slightly higher than a 2.4 percent increase in 2004.

The 3.1 percent increase in total compensation for the 12 months ending in December was the smallest annual increase since a 2.9 percent rise in 1996.

(more at link)