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Wage Gains: For Your Boss - Yes; For You - Not So Much

Tyler Durden's picture




 

There was a time when the "data-dependent" Fed was concerned not so much about the unemployment rate or the number of monthly payroll gains, as it was with employee wage gains and whether there is any "pent up inflation" hiding in worker compensation. While it has since emerged that the "data" the Fed has been focused on is that of the daily moves in the Dow Jones, a glimpse at wage growth whose that unfortunately, for the vast majority of the US population, there simply is none.

First, here is a chart showing total average hourly earnings.

 

Aside from the modest decline in November from the rather substantial jump in October, the chart looks good, at least until one looks at the change in total hours worked for all employees, which declined from 34.6 to 34.5 hours, suggesting that wage gains were at the expense of a contraction in the work week.

The impact of this on weekly earnings is rather dramatic, which as a result of the decline in hours saw a more than commensurate drop. In fact, after rising nearly 3% in October, weekly earnings in November returned to the red zone with just a 2% increase, the lowest since June, and matched the average since 2011.

 

But nowhere is the lack of rising wages for most of the US labor force more visible than in the breakdown between wages for nonsupervisory workers, that segment of the US population that accounts for 100 million or 82% of the work force, and wage growth for the sliver of workers at the very top, those who make up the balance, i.e., the managers and supervisors.

Here is what wage growth looked like for all supervisory workers - rising at a paltry 2 %, there is practically no core inflation-adjusted wage growth:

 

And here is the wage growth for these workers' bosses - some 20 million or so "supervisors and managers" - which also happens to include the economists living in various academic ivory towers and the Marriner Eccles building, and who have the erroneous tendency to equate what is happening to the paycheck of the broader population with their own.

So the next time you wonder where the Fed Chairwoman is seeing wage growth, the answer is simple: they are looking at your boss' paycheck... yours, not so much.

 

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Fri, 12/04/2015 - 11:36 | 6875556 wmbz
wmbz's picture

Well any idea that Banksters Inc. gives a flying shit about the income of mere serfs would be/is crazy.

"We" are intended to do as told... now lick my boots while I ass rape you over and over again.

Signed, The Tip Top....001%

Fri, 12/04/2015 - 11:50 | 6875593 LowerSlowerDela...
LowerSlowerDelaware_LSD's picture

Then be "the boss" (and don't drive the company under while bossing).  Do you know what an incredible pain in the a$$ it is to have to deal with whiney, special little snowflakes, day in and day out?  Being "the boss" isn't all it's made out to be.  It's much more pleasant just being able to do one's job.  Just imagine, whiners, how terrible it would be having to "manage" a bunch of you.  Nightmare...

Fri, 12/04/2015 - 13:38 | 6876315 TruxtonSpangler
TruxtonSpangler's picture

This makes no sense. I have people that refer to me as their boss and I have someone I refer to as boss. Does not compute.

Fri, 12/04/2015 - 14:27 | 6876536 rejected
rejected's picture

" Do you know what an incredible pain in the a$$ it is to have to deal with whiney, special little snowflakes, day in and day out?"

Absolutely! I am constantly having to put up with managers whining and crying about 'their' numbers while customers can go fish.

Fri, 12/04/2015 - 11:46 | 6875614 Demdere
Demdere's picture

This and Fed raising the rate was all signaled by the jobs analysis a few weeks ago.

https://thinkpatriot.wordpress.com/2015/11/22/the-parable-of-the-press-r...

https://thinkpatriot.wordpress.com/2015/11/14/in-reality-everything-is-c...

9/11 was a False Flag Operation by the US government under control of Israeli-Neocons

Fri, 12/04/2015 - 11:52 | 6875667 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

Pay raises are overrated. Why work 40+ hours making 40k a year when you can work part time and make up the rest with Obambenefits?

Fri, 12/04/2015 - 12:01 | 6875734 svc101
svc101's picture

How far we've drifted. A rising tide lift a few yachts.

Fri, 12/04/2015 - 12:32 | 6875928 Vlad the Inhaler
Vlad the Inhaler's picture

And you dipshits are blaming the Mexicans.

Fri, 12/04/2015 - 13:05 | 6876115 KnuckleDragger-X
KnuckleDragger-X's picture

They are the symptom but not the disease, but they are out in the open and obvious. Things will change when the patient goes terminal though, but not in a good way.....

Fri, 12/04/2015 - 12:34 | 6875942 Caveman93
Caveman93's picture

Shit is getting very top heavy. Hate to see what happens when my books are all on the top shelf and there's nothing at the bottom.

Fri, 12/04/2015 - 13:09 | 6876142 Thomas Sowell
Thomas Sowell's picture

Veteran's Affairs Senior Executive bunuses be flying, contempt of congress be damned

Fri, 12/04/2015 - 14:15 | 6876494 Sudden Debt
Sudden Debt's picture

In 2016 we'll have a overall price increase of 7% on products in Europe due to the dollar strenght, wages won't go up but companies all take a extra buffer in the price increases and that money will go to...

Fri, 12/04/2015 - 15:10 | 6876765 MoHillbilly
MoHillbilly's picture

The Boss of my business has actually seen his wages drop since 09

 

 

Oh Shit I Own My Business

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