Wages jump by the most on records dating back 20 years

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wages and salaries jumped in the three months ending in September by the most on records that date back 20 years as companies are forced to offer higher pay to fill a near-record number of available jobs.

Pay increased 1.5% in the third quarter, the Labor Department said Friday. That’s up sharply from 0.9% in the previous quarter. The value of benefits rose 0.9% in the July-September quarter, more than double the preceding three months.

The data further illustrates the rising leverage workers have gained in the job market this year and they are commanding higher pay, more benefits, and other perks like flexible work hours. With more jobs available than there are unemployed people, government data shows, businesses have been forced to work harder to attract staff.

Higher inflation is eating away at some of the wage increases, but overall pay is keeping up with rising prices. The 1.5% increase in wages and salaries in the third quarter is ahead of the 1.2% increase in inflation during that period, economists said.



FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2021, file photo, a hiring sign is placed at a booth for Jameson's Irish Pub during a job fair in the West Hollywood section of Los Angeles. California's historic hiring slowed down in September as the state added 47,400 new jobs. California has been averaging more than 100,000 new jobs each month since February. New data released Friday, Oct. 22, 2021, by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows California is now tied with Nevada for the highest unemployment rate in the country at 7.5%. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/business-wages-salaries-increase-8ce98ea3bcc14c4810eb5a1111e1df49

[hamsterjill]

1. Awesomely good news!!!

I hope this trend continues!

[Mysterian]

2. Thanks President Biden!

He's in office so he gets the credit.

[RussBLib]

3. good news nt

[demosurvivor]

4. Other than the current job market situation,

I wonder where this wage issue idea came from? Come on, you can say it. hehehe

Note: I'm also happy this happened on Biden's watch. It sure as hell wasn't going to happen on a republicant watch.

[Farmer-Rick]

5. Before we get too excited

That's 12 cents an hour for a minimum wage worker. If it keeps this pace of increase for a year, that is less than 50 cents an hour.

Let's compare that to the tax give aways to billionaires. If you are one of the top 25 richest people in the US, you saved at least $10 billion in taxes NOT paid. This is why the filthy rich oligarchs are so hot for ugly pig boy Trump.

[Elessar Zappa]

6. There's a lot of places

where there have been significant wage increases. Our local McDonald’s went from $11/hr to $15/hr in a single leap. WalMart also raised their starting wages by a couple of bucks here. So workers are seeing some real benefits. It’s still not good enough but it’s a start.

[Igel]

12. Wages really increased in the late '70s and early '80s.

Problem was, inflation >> wage increases.

Inference: Wages were struggling to keep up with inflation.

Took a pretty deep recession to get us out of that trough.

I graduated college during that inflation. Four years after "malaise". Notice that that inflation/unemployement was *without* government-mandated business closures, but still unemployment was over 12%.

Then again, inflation was higher than now. (And nobody believed it was "transitory"--they were obviously mistaken because it ended; if it only lasted from 1977 to 1982, that's "only" 6 years ... Surely, "transitory".)

Weezle wurds. Oll.

[Farmer-Rick]

14. Don't blame wages for that inflation

You can blame Fed Chairs Burns and Miller for jacking up interest rates sky high. It was due to the total failure of our central bank and economic policy for forcing austerity on borrowers. I bought a house back then and we thought 13 percent was good.

Wages only went up to keep pace with inflation caused by the Fed jacking up interest rates. Yeah you got a 50 cent raise, or 1 percent per quarter, which was eaten up by a 5 percent cost of living increase.

It was a miserable failure by the Fed and the board that caused that inflation. Increase in wages just barely kept up with inflation. It was a symptom of poor Fed policy not the cause.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. Thanks for the thread. From the source:

Compensation costs up 1.3% Jun 2021 to Sep 2021 and up 3.7% over the year ending Sep 2021

Economic News Release USDL-21-1907

Employment Cost Index Summary
Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until 8:30 a.m. (ET) Friday, October 29, 2021

Technical information: [phone] * [e-mail] * www.bls.gov/ect
Media contact: [phone] * [e-mail]

EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX – September 2021

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 1.3 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending in September 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries increased 1.5 percent and benefit costs increased 0.9 percent from June 2021. (See tables A, 1, 2, and 3.)

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 3.7 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2021 and increased 2.4 percent in September 2020. Wages and salaries increased 4.2 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2021 and increased 2.5 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2020. Benefit costs increased 2.5 percent over the year and increased 2.3 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2020. (See tables A, 4, 8, and 12.)

Compensation costs for private industry workers increased 4.1 percent over the year. In September 2020, the increase was 2.4 percent. Wages and salaries increased 4.6 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2021 and increased 2.7 percent in September 2020. The cost of benefits increased 2.6 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2021 and increased 2.0 percent in September 2020. (See tables A, 5, 9, and 12.)

Employer costs for health benefits of private industry workers increased 0.4 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2021.(See www.bls.gov/ncs/ect/data.htm.)

Among private industry occupational groups, compensation cost increases for the 12-month period ending in September 2021 ranged from 3.2 percent for management, professional, and related occupations to 6.1 percent for service occupations. Within industry supersectors, compensation cost increases ranged from 3.0 percent for construction to 6.9 percent for leisure and hospitality. (See table 5.)

Compensation costs for state and local government workers increased 2.3 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2021, compared with an increase of 2.3 percent in September 2020. Wages and salaries increased 2.4 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2021 and 1.8 percent a year ago. Benefit costs increased 2.1 percent for the 12-month period ending in September 2021. The prior year increase was 3.2 percent. (See tables A, 7, 11, and 12.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on the September 2021 Employment Cost Index
Response rates for September were comparable with prior releases and no changes in estimation
procedures were necessary. Additional information is available at www.bls.gov/covid19/home.htm.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

{snip all sorts of tables}

* * * * *

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Information from these releases will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: [phone], Federal Relay Services: 1-800-877-8339.

[pecosbob]

8. An entire generation robbed of their life's work

Those of working age from 1980 to the present were fucked out of their livelihood and their retirement by the wealthy. Those in government enabled this theft.

[Igel]

13. How? n/t

[madville]

9. Wages go up a few percent while everything else is going up double digit percentages

When you consider how much fuel, grocery and housing prices have increased over the same periods it's still a net loss of buying power. Something is better than nothing of course but people are still getting poorer.

[inthewind21]

10. 1.5 is nothing to get excited about

1.5%, let's pop the cork on the champagne. Oh wait, we STILL can afford champagne. Meanwhile, the top is jumping by 200+ percent. This entire country has been brainwashed into thinking that 1.5% is news to celebrate.

[Dopers_Greed]

11. This is great news

But everyone thinks the economy is bad because gas prices are up.

Dems need better PR.

[Demovictory9]

15. Good news

[MissMillie]

16. Highest jump in 20 years... still not high enough

If wages had kept pace w/ productivity, the minimum wage would be over $20/hr.