For those wondering why average hourly earnings in December plunged by -0.2% on expectations of a 0.2% increase and why the November "Green shoot" surge in wages of 0.4%, which everyone took as a signal of imminent wage inflation was cut in half...
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... here is the answer: in December the number of workers employed in Food Service and Drinking Places, i.e., sub-minimum wage waiters and bartenders jumped by 43,600: the highest monthly increase since 2012...
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... taking the series to an all time high record of 10.848 million workers, and rapidly catching up with America's barely growing manufacturing sector.
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What about other industries? Here is the full breakdown of the December 250,000 seasonally-adjusted job increase by industry: note the relentless "strength" in low-paying education and health, leisure and hospitality, and retail sectors.
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