Tuesday, July 11, 2006

In Case You Missed It: Good Jobs At Good Wages

From The Wall Street Journal


July 11, 2006


It's been 26 months since we first referred to the "Dangerfield economy," or the current economic boom that gets no respect. ...


[T]he labor report shows remarkable strength. The unemployment rate stayed at a very low 4.6%, despite the addition of 330,000 new entrants into the labor market. ...


Meanwhile, the increase in total hours worked in June was itself the equivalent of a half-million new jobs. And the number of Americans who have been without a job for more than six months sank by 217,000 in June to its lowest level in more than five years. ...


The major worry of most workers today is, of course, that their take-home pay isn't keeping pace with the cost of college tuition, health care or filling up the gas tank. However, even here there is some good news. Wages rose 4.6% in this year's second quarter, the fastest quarterly pace since 1997. ...


[W]ages after inflation rose by 0.7% in the 62 months from the peak of the last business expansion in March 2001 through this May. ...


The same analysis finds a 7.4% gain in total worker compensation (wages and benefits) after inflation in the current expansion, much higher than the 2% gain over the same stage of the business cycle in the 1990s. Gains in median household net worth have also been higher, largely because of increased housing values. ...


In most parts of the U.S. today, the biggest labor-market problem isn't the lack of jobs but a shortage of willing workers with the proper skills. That's a problem that much of the rest of the industrial world, with jobless rates nearly twice as high, would love to have.


To View Entire Article Please Visit:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115258405475803021.html?mod=todays_us_opinion