How much money we're making – May 2020
Bottom Line: In today's third story breaking down the employment report we'll look at what ordinarily is the fun stuff...how much more money we're making. There’s a huge storyline which is played out in the monthly breakout of incomes. You’d suspect that incomes would have dropped significantly for those who are still working, right? That wasn’t the case. The average hourly wage for all Americans is currently $30.01. With an average work week of 34.2 hours, the average income is now $53,369. That’s $2,353 more than two months ago. The average hourly rate is a new record high along with record high incomes for those still working full-time.
Here are the details:
- Earnings +$1.34 cents over prior month
- +7% year over year
- Average person is earning $3,695 more than a year ago
Some records are attained for the best possible reasons. Others are set for far less than ideal reasons. This is a situation of the latter. The good news, for those who are still working full-time, is that on balance you’re earning more than you ever have. It’s certainly not true for many but it is for most. But the major elephant in the room isn’t that earnings jumped by a record amount last month due to prosperity. Just the opposite. What this breakout demonstrates is that the most negatively impacted industries have been those with lower paying jobs. This was evidenced by leisure and hospitality being hit hardest. With the greatest job destruction coming with lower wage jobs generally, those who are still working tend to be those in higher paying industries. This wasn’t a case of organic wage growth due to positive economic factors. It was based on the types of jobs lost. Nevertheless, the good news is this. For those who are working fulltime, which is still most of the country, wages and hours are intact. If we can begin to turn the corner in May, there’s room for optimism here if we look for it.