Multiple Jobholders Surge To Highest Since August 2008

As we noted earlier, while the headline payrolls print blew away consensus estimates, printing above the highest expectations, there was a rather unpleasant number in the data: nominal average hourly wages actually dipped by 1 cent to $25.24. 

What caused this? There are three reasons.

First: the continued surge of minimum wage jobs, as seen in the chart below, which shows that in December another 36,900 minimum wage waiters and bartenders were added to the labor force, bringing the total to a new record high of 11.3 million.

Putting this in context, here is a chart showing the relative addition of waiter, bartender jobs in 2015 vs high-paying manufacturing jobs. No comment necessary.

And longer-term chart: since December 2007.

Second: a troubling finding from the report was the continued surge in temp-help workers. In fact, as the BLS admitted, while employment in professional and business services increased by 73,000 in December, temporary help services accounting for nearly half, or 34,000, of the gain. As the chart below shows, jumping the 34K jump in December brought the number of temp-worker to a new all time high.

Third: the most troubling aspect of today's jobs report, and perhaps the clearest explanation why there was no wage growth in December, is that the number of multiple job holders soared by 324,000 bringing the total to 7.738 million. This was the highest since August 2008, which as a reminder is the month before the great financial crisis started.

And, as Lakshman Achuthan shows, "people need multiple jobs to make ends meet"

So yes: jobs grew, and yet the BLS itself admits that of the 290,000 job additions, more than all came from 1 worker who had to work 2 or more jobs.

End result: average hourly wages declined from $25.25 to $25.24.

Comments

[jcdenton]

I have skin in this game ..

Single, no kids, beginning at age 40+

2002 - salary 50k+ w/ full benies, own home (4BDR), new truck, new boat, raw invest land, gas $1

2004 - salary 30k+ w/ full benies, apt. (1BDR), lost home, lost boat, liquid land, gas $2

2006 - salary 40k+ w/ full benies, apt. (1BDR), gas $3 (liquid stocks

2008 - salary 40k+ w/ full benies, apt (1BDR), gas $4

2010 - salary 20k+ no benies, apt (1BDR), gas $3

2012 - salary 20k+ no benies, apt (1BDR), gas $4 (10k+ in bank)

2014 - salary 5k+ no benies, live w/ parents, gas $3 (lost bank acct; parent's gas card)

2016 - salary 1k-, lost dad (died), live w/ mother, gas $2

- age 55+

- have not full-time perm job since summer 2012

- closed bank acct '13 after 30+ years

- laid off/ RIF 3 times w/ full severance since summer '02 to summer '12

- RIF spring '15 from part-time w/ no severance

- since '02 all same industry [IT] in Texas [primarily Austin and Houston]

- way too many heart breaking interviews beginning in summer '08 to present to list

- starting own biz w/ present compliance unthinkable; did attempt mutli times

- to retrain self in different industry / career next to impossible (self funding w/o govt. assist)

So, forgive me if after looking at all possible alternatives I see the following as our only hope. This is no panacea. We have much catharsis to endure even together with the following remedy ..

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2014/07/30/the-coming-return-of-the-real-us...

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2014/01/05/the-wanta-reconstructing-america...

http://www.thedailybell.com/exclusive-interviews/3791/Anthony-Wile-Colon...

[edifice]

If you live like a monk (NOTHING outside of base expenses), don't have a family, and make $50k/year, you MIGHT be able to survive with 1 job. That is my situation. Oh, and you have to shack up with 2 or 3 other people in a rented house (where landlord charges $800/mo for a ROOM in that house).