Hiring picked up in August and so did worker pay -- registering the fastest wage growth since 2009 in an encouraging sign that wages may finally be moving higher after years of sluggish gains.
August was the 95th straight month the U.S. economy added jobs, with a robust 201,000 job gains, the Labor Department reported Friday, while wages for U.S. workers grew at 2.9 percent in the past year. The national unemployment rate remained at 3.9 percent, one of the lowest levels in half a century.
The higher pay is a sign that businesses are having to compete hard for workers. Many business leaders have complained they cannot find the workers they need, especially for skilled jobs like welders or computers coders.
Economists had expected that companies would start to raise wages significantly to attract -- and keep -- the talent they want. But pay had been creeping up slowly for much of the recovery. That appears to be changing now that there are more job openings than unemployed Americans.
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Lots of us Baby Boomers have started our own businesses since 2008 and aren't looking for jobs anymore. Looking for employees who know how to accomplish goals is a real challenge. Some of us are at retirement age but just can't yet.
ReplyDeleteYou kids need to wise up quick. There's a boom coming.
MAGA!
We need to wise up quick? Your generations policies and mindset are what put the country into this mess in the first place. You care more about your portfolio than your morals, empathy and so called "faith".
DeleteThe boom has been growing for 6 years. Where have you been? Wage increases are the direct result of record low unemployment.
ReplyDeleteInflation and interest rates are growing too. Keep an eye on your credit card and variable rate mortgages. the payments are going up,
ReplyDelete8:31 is right, however we lost a lot of skilled boomers in the Obama years and many trade/construction-related businesses could not afford to train the kids. As a result there is a gap in skill. Now we have more work and very green workers. Gotta get kids up to speed and stop forcing them into liberal colleges, saddling them with student loan debt. There is no shame in getting dirty for a living. My hubby makes almost twice what I make and I have a degree, believe me he is no dummy!
ReplyDelete