http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=578&e=6&u=/nm/20040729/bs_nm/economy_dcWages Sluggish, Jobless Claims Stable
By Tim Ahmann
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - First-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits last week held at a level suggesting an improving labor market but wage growth over the past year has dragged along at its slowest pace in over 20 years, government reports released on Thursday showed.
Wages and salaries rose a slim 0.6 percent in the second quarter and are up just 2.5 percent over the past 12 months, matching the period through March as the smallest 12-month gain on records dating to 1982, the Labor Department (news - web sites) said in a report offering fuel for an election-year debate over jobs. <snip>
Benefit costs shot up 1.8 percent, building on an out-sized 2.4 percent advance in the first quarter that reflected hefty company contributions to defined benefit pension plans (and health).
Over the last 12 months, benefit costs have risen 7.2 percent, the biggest gain in 14 years.
"Consumers generally cannot spend benefit-compensation, so weak wages remain a downside risk for consumption ... while high benefit costs could become a problem for profit margins, inflation or both," said Ian Morris, chief U.S. economist at HSBC Securities. <snip>
A third report showed the number of help-wanted ads in U.S. newspapers eased in June, suggesting a slight slowing in the pace of U.S. hiring. The Conference Board (news - web sites), a private research group, said its gauge measuring help-wanted ad volume dipped to 38 from 39 in May.
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBJOOW19XD.html American Wages, Benefits Rise a Moderate 0.9 Percent in Second Quarter
By Martin Crutsinger
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Wages and benefits for U.S. workers rose a moderate 0.9 percent in the April-June quarter this year, down slightly from the previous quarter's increase, as price pressures for benefits like health insurance eased significantly.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that the 0.9 percent rise in wages and benefits in the second quarter followed a 1.1 percent increase in the January-March quarter. It was the smallest quarterly increase since a 0.8 percent rise in the final quarter of last year. <snip>
Overall incomes have also been battered by the bursting of the stock market bubble in 2000, which wiped out trillions of dollars in paper wealth. An Internal Revenue Service analysis of tax returns showed that the total income Americans reported on their tax returns fell by 2.3 percent in 2002 to $6.04 trillion, the second straight annual decline in incomes.
According to the IRS, this marked the first back-to-back declines in adjustable gross income in more than a half century.
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