U.S. Jobs Growth Slows, Wages Stall

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/05/04/us-jobs-growth-slows-wages-stall/

U.S. Jobs Growth Slows, Wages Stall

by Tula Connell, May 4, 2007

The jobs picture dimmed today, with April jobs increasing by only 88,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and the unemployment rate worsening to 4.5 percent. To keep pace with population growth, jobs need to increase by 150,000 to 175,000. And as it has in the past, the BLS revised downward its original cheery estimates of job growth in March and February, noting the Labor Department overcounted those months by a total of 26,000 jobs.

But it’s not just jobs that aren’t growing.

According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR):

Real wages are no longer growing. Over the past quarter, wages grew at an annual nominal rate of 3.6 percent, more than a full percentage point below inflation. The drop in hours worked and the weak hourly wage growth have led to an atypical decline in average nominal weekly earnings (seasonally adjusted), from $583.42 in March to $583.05 in April. Nominal weekly earnings fell in less than a quarter of the months since the beginning of 2000.

We noted yesterday that between 1997 and 2001, 1.8 million U.S. jobs have been lost due to trade with China. And last week, the Commerce Department reported the nation’s economic growth slowed to a near crawl of 1.3 percent in the first three months of 2007, the worst performance in four years. Meanwhile, consumer prices jumped by a 3.4 percent annual rate in the first quarter, after falling in the last quarter of 2006.

Yet, the Dow Jones is soaring to record highs. Used to be, the Dow was an indicator of the nation’s economic health. Now, with only 10 percent of Americans owning stock, the stratospheric Dow Jones average more and more looks like a sign of the nation’s growing income disparity.

[thoughtanarchist]

1. "wages stall"?

I didn't even hear them idling.

In case no one has noticed, wages have been broken down for quite some time now and are up on blocks and in the process of rusting away to nothing in the front yard.

[bluerum]

2. IMO - one reason the dow is climbing is that there is a lot of wealth being

put into the hands of people who can afford to invest it.

A family of four, parents working multiple jobs are lucky if they have enough left to put away in their 401k or IRA at the end of the month.

Last I looked - the Nasdaq was substantially off its 2001 high.

[dorktv]

3. this is sad.

[thoughtcrime1984]

4. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

"W" (and the "W"ealthy) wins, the people lose!