Real wages fall at fastest rate in 14 years

[RamboLiberal]

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f269a8f4-c173-11d9-943f-00000e2511c8.html

Real wages in the US are falling at their fastest rate in 14 years, according to data surveyed by the Financial Times.

Inflation rose 3.1 per cent in the year to March but salaries climbed just 2.4 per cent, according to the Employment Cost Index. In the final three months of 2004, real wages fell by 0.9 per cent.

The last time salaries fell this steeply was at the start of 1991, when real wages declined by 1.1 per cent.

Stingy pay rises mean many Americans will have to work longer hours to keep up with the cost of living, and they could ultimately undermine consumer spending and economic growth.

Many economists believe that in spite of the unexpectedly large rise in job creation of 274,000 in April, the uneven revival in the labour market since the 2001 recession has made it hard for workers to negotiate real improvements in living standards.

[ixion]

1. whose salary is climbing?

I've had to cut my hourly rate nearly in half because of a saturated market.

[K-W]

14. CEO salaries are flying up as we speak. EOM

[Roland99]

2. Wow...first time in my life inflation outpaced my raise

Only got a 3% raise this year.

:(

[RaleighNCDUer]

19. This is old news to me.

My 3% raise last year was my first raise in 3 years.

[leftofthedial]

3. another bush; same story

murkans are so abysmally stupid

[Zorra]

4. Bush is destroying America, a big chunk at a time. n/t

[BillZBubb]

5. "unexpectedly large rise in job creation of 274,000"

The Corporate media still pushes lies like this without looking at the details.

Almost this entire job "creation" was made by right wing operatives at the BLS. It is an "adjustment" to the business survey numbers based on supposed business creation. They added almost 260,000 "birthed" jobs in April. See the link below.

More bullshit propaganda from the corporatists and the right wing.

http://www.bls.gov/web/cesbd.htm

[Nite Owl]

7. This is part of an email letter

from Chuck Butler, President of Everbank World Markets:

...I just don't know why the markets don't look into data before they go half cocked thinking they know something! What do they know... Nothing, absolutely nothing! Let me explain... The Jobs Jamboree number came out, and just as I thought it would, it exceeded the economists forecast of 174k... The number reported was 274k, and the dollar got bought like there was no tomorrow! This was it, the economy is on the move, and all the planets are in alignment again, right? Wrong! If the markets had taken the time to look more closely at the number they would have seen that, just as I thought they would, the BLS added "ghost jobs" to the tune of 257k... Real jobs added? 17k!

So... If you back out the "ghost jobs" added by the BLS last month, and this month, the total new jobs created was a negative -16k! The trend is not your friend in the labor markets if you ask me... And even if you want to play along the BLS and their "birth / death model" the average "reported" jobs this year is 201k per month... As a reader pointed out to me, this 201k average is just barely above the monthly growth in population additions to the labor force, so we are not putting people back to work at an encouraging rate. The percent of the population that are employed is still at near recession levels.

[EVDebs]

26. But the 'net' job creation is still negative. Pop growth is at 2% yr

but jobs haven't been created at that rate since Shrub took office.

America's Has-Been Economy
http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts03162005.html

The M$M cheers over the months job growth tops the 150,000 monthly needed just to break even. But not a peep during those months when it hasn't. Got to prop up that stock market.

[llmart]

6. This isn't news to those of us out here in the real world......

The Repugs are sooooo out of touch with the common person.

[redqueen]

8. Thanks, bush! Thanks, idiot bush voters!

:grr:

[AnneD]

9. Can we have a show of hands......

of those out there that found this 'news' a startling surprise? Seem the only people that are surprised are the economists.

[Ian David]

10. Exxon CEO's 2004 paycheck: $38 million

"MSN Money - Extra: Exxon CEO's 2004 paycheck: $38 million"

Oil giant's record-breaking 2004 revenues and profit bring a big raise for its boss, Lee Raymond.

By The Associated Press

Buoyed by high oil prices, Exxon Mobil had a record-breaking year in 2004, and Chairman and Chief Executive Lee R. Raymond shared in the company's success with a $38 million compensation package, the largest U.S. oil company said Wednesday.

Exxon Mobil (XOM, news, msgs) said that Raymond, 66, was paid $7.5 million in salary and bonus plus restricted stock worth $28 million and nearly $2.6 million more in other compensation and incentives.

That was an increase from Raymond's 2003 package worth about $27.9 million, including $6.8 million in salary and bonus and $17.9 million in restricted stock.

<snip>

Raymond's compensation was detailed in Exxon's proxy filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. He received $216,000 in other compensation that included contributions under retirement plans. He received $179,382 for the cost of club memberships, financial planning services and tax assistance, as well as personal use of the company aircraft and other properties.

More:
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/invest/extra/P114939.asp

[lastliberalintexas]

12. The saddest part is

that the ExxonMobil CEO's salary is in the *median* range for executive pay:


http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2003-03-31-ceopay2_x.htm

The glory days are long gone for most stockholders, but the good times still roll for many CEOs.

Corporate America has been tarnished by high-profile scandals, fraud and executive chicanery. The sputtering economy and sagging corporate profits pounded stocks for a third-consecutive year. But when it came to pain and suffering — at least pay-wise — most CEOs barely felt the downdraft last year.

CEOs running 100 of the USA's biggest companies pulled in median 2002 compensation of $33.4 million, essentially unchanged from 2001, based on an exclusive database analysis by USA TODAY and the Investor Responsibility Research Center, a corporate-governance watchdog. The analysis includes salaries, bonuses, incentive pay, stock awards, gains from exercising stock options and the potential value of stock-option grants. The tally:

* CEO salaries and bonuses surged 15% in a year salaries for rank-and-file workers averaged 3.2% gains.
* Instead of stock options, many companies gave CEOs large blocks of restricted shares, less risky equity stakes. Among 36% of CEOs receiving them, the median value was $2.9 million.
* More than 90% received fresh stock-option grants, with a median potential value of $23.2 million.
* Nearly one-third pulled in compensation valued at $50 million or more. Even at companies where pay fell, pay packages remained large. PepsiCo CEO Steve Reinemund's pay package fell 62%, but was a still-impressive $76.5 million.

-more-


on edit- And these are even 2002 figures, which were the most recent I could find.

[wishlist]

11. Small businesses are hurting with lower sales revenues too this year

Our small family business has experienced noticeably lower sales in the past year. High energy, health care and food costs with lack of increases in income are really hurting consumers.

We experienced the same kind of poor sales during the first Bush's presidency, then things picked up under Clinton and have been falling again under this Bush, but especially bad during the past 6 months. So we are doing like everyone else, cutting back on our spending and conserving more and being more careful to find the best values.

[teryang]

20. A conservative republican told me yesterday

...after a discussion of how poorly small business people he knew seemed to be doing and how the Pentagon absorption of federal revenues was harming the economy and threatening social security...

that he would never vote republican again.

This wasn't based upon principle but based upon the material harm to himself and his friends and acquaintences due to republican fiscal policies.

[Digit]

24. When will they realize people need to MAKE money to spend money?

Do they expect only the uber wealthy to keep them afloat?
Guess they were alittle short sighted, huh.

[NNN0LHI]

13. But the newsreader lady on MSNBC just about went orgasmic this morning...

...while reporting gas dropped 5 fucking cents.

Don

[NJmaverick]

15. Be sure to thank a republican for making this possible

Next time you seem one thank them for voting in idiots that have royally screwed up our country.

[Yavin4]

16. Basically, Americans Got A .7% Pay Cut

Right? Or is my math wrong. If everything on average is 3.1% higher and you only got a 2.4% wage increase, then you really got a pay cut.

[lovuian]

17. Vote Republican and Get Paid Less Vote Democrat and get PayRaise

:bounce:

[wicket]

21. that's what I did but Bush still won

And now I lost my job :mad: Freaking Bush economy! :grr:

[orwell]

18. What Do They Expect

The Cons are wedded to cheap labor. It is their reason to exist.

But don't tell the Xtian Cons. They believe...

[Imagevision]

22. And Cheney is still collecting $188,000 monthly from Haliburton

[Erika]

23. Freepers are blaming all the wrong people

like the environmentalists, the unions, business regulations. Don't these shallow people realize or why haven't they studied their history so they know these rules and the unions came into existence because the environment and workers were being abused, for God's sake.

[pfitz59]

25. Hillary's Hollywood fund-raiser is news on hate radio....

Both Bill and Hillary were in the news on hate radio all day (as I scanned the dial). Hannity, Pigboy and the rest are going loopy....

[area51]

28. "Hannity, Pigboy and the rest are going loopy...."

"Hannity, Pigboy and the rest are going loopy...."

They were born loopy. :evilgrin:


-------------
"Prosperity is just around the corner." — Herbert Hoover
"The economy has turned a corner." — GW Bush

Herbert Hoover = GW Bush

Neither man cared about the Depression their economic policies created.

[pagandem4justice]

27. Job creation, my patootey

"...large rise in job creation of 274,000 in April..."

Yep:



:wtf:

(edited for link correction)

[Robert Oak]

29. Race to the bottom

What kills me is

1. How many Democrats in congress vote against the middle class

2. How many liberals still think "free trade" as currently
implemented and offshoring are "great ideas".

It's incredible, the statistics are roaring in that the middle
class and the United States as a nation state are in huge
trouble at this point.

It's known that Grover Norquist wants to "outsource the government".
We have privatization of public goods going on, corporations making
the national energy policy, corporations making the tax code
(in essence through lobbying) and CEO pay rates now just obviously
"taking" from the majority of employees and lining their own pockets.
http://www.afl-cio.org/corporateamerica/paywatch/index.cfm

Yet...people are not in the streets and so many even refuse to look
at what is going on. Has the propaganda machine mesmerized that many?

[natrat]

31. yes and americans have devolved into a lower form of life,seriously

[underpants]

30. Now now my friends this is because corporation profits at record levels...

[struggle4progress]

32. This economy was brought to you by -- The Ownership Society.

[jamesinca]

33. Nothing like working full time

Work full time and still have to claim welfare. How did Bush put it when talking to the woman that said she had 3 jobs: "That is uniquely American" Now we know why.

[ozone_man]

34. This will make inflation go negative.

Yup, deflation will eventually win. Stock market and real estate bubbles will be pricked. Without incomes to match these inflated prices can't be supported.

[hadrons]

35. bump

[Danmel]

36. Not only have wages not gone up

but co pays and deductibles have. We are getting slaughtered by co pays and deductibles for our health care and for our kids. It is brutal. I had a pelvic and renal sono done- I had to pay almost $200 of the $800 and that's with paying a good chunk of the premium and a sizable co pay. Thankfully nothing was wrong. My prescription coverage also sucks. Getting worse by the day.