In Trump’s economy, working class employees are getting bigger raises than their bosses

Chris White, DCNF  

(Source: WikiMedia Commons)

Wages for working-class Americans are increasing faster than for their bosses as the U.S. economy keeps humming and unemployment rates stay low, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The wage increases are a sign that the labor market is tightening to a point where it is giving low wage employees leverage for raises. A short supply of workers and an increase of poaching and headhunting among employers are helping those at the bottom climb up the pay scale, the report notes.

Pay for Americans on the bottom pay scale rose 4.5% in November from last year, whereas wages for the top 25% of earners rose 2.9%, the WSJ reported, citing data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Wages for low-skilled workers have skyrocketed since 2018, the Atlanta Fed found.

Corporations are feeling the effect, according to TheWSJ. “The effective labor pool is smaller than what it has been in the past,” Tony Darden, president of Mooyah Burgers, Fries & Shakes, a restaurant chain based in Plano, Texas, told the WSJ.

Darden added: “As you look to bring on folks, ultimately higher wages are used to attract them.”

Darden’s company is competing for workers with other restaurants. Mooyah increased wages 8% in 2019, with much of that flowing to entry-level workers, he said, adding that managers and supervisors are seeing less of a premium than their subordinates as a result.

Americans are apparently noticing the effects. Nearly 76% of those polled in a Dec, 20 CNN poll believe that the economy is either “very or somewhat good,” the highest percentage in nearly 20 years, when 80% said that the economy was doing well.

The poll also shows improvement from President Donald Trump’s first few days in office, when only half of the population viewed the economy as a net positive.

For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

BPR INSIDER COMMENTS

Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!

Latest Articles