How much (more) money we're making – May 2019
Bottom Line: In today's third story breaking down the employment report we'll look at the fun stuff...how much more money we're making. The average hourly wage for all Americans is currently $27.77. With an average work week of 34.4 hours, the average income is now $49,674. That’s a decrease of $20 over just a month ago as the average work week fell slightly.
Here are the details:
- Earnings are up +7 cents per hour
- +3.2% year over year
- Average person is earning $1,559 more than a year ago
April was actually the worst month of the year for wage growth – because the average person worked slightly fewer hours during the month. With the huge employment gains,it’s somewhat to be expected. Impressively and importantly for the overall economy - we’re still making more than 3% more than we were a year ago. Anything above 3% year-over-year gives us the ability to continue to grow the economy by greater than 3%.
Through a combination of 3.2% raises, bonuses and the benefit of the tax cuts the average person has nearly $3,500 more to show for their same work today compared with just over a year ago. With consumer spending making up about 70% of the US economy – it's obvious why the economy has been strong and there’s enough here to see that there’s still room for optimism going forward.
It’s never the case that the headline unemployment rate and jobs added or lost will tell the whole story, but that’s especially true this month. Here’s my summation statement from last month’s story.
Look for continued momentum in April. Plus, with lower interest rates after the fed said they were done raising rates, housing has been picking up again. There’s a recipe for a strong second quarter.
There are two sides to stories and one side to facts. I’ll continue to provide you with the facts and keep you ahead of the curve.