For years I've had fun at cocktail parties by asking this question: What percent of all the people who work in the U.S. are paid minimum wage or less? Of the hundreds of people I've asked, only one has come even close to the right answer. The great majority of the answers I've received (try it yourself!) range from 10% to as much as 50%. My conclusion: A huge number of Americans hold the fantasy belief that a significant percentage of those who work would benefit from raising the minimum wage. READ MORE
Wages rise in the nation’s hottest job market — but so do costs
Isabel Moctezuma was cooking again. Now, at least, she was doing it at home, making salmon for dinner in her small apartment. Her daughter, Mia, 8, sliced carrots next to her. Moctezuma was just off the clock and still wearing her Texas Roadhouse work shirt, which on the back read, “I (heart) my job.” The slogan made her laugh. READ MORE
Microsoft just gave big, surprise bonuses to keep engineers from going to Amazon
The bonuses were unexpected and unprecedented, according to sources who work at and with Microsoft who asked not to be named to protect their jobs and business relationships.
Microsoft typically awards annual bonuses on Sept. 15 and they vest at a flat rate over five years. READ MORE
New Minimum Wage Plan Still Flawed
Politicians and activists have been trying to raise the federal minimum wage for years now. The Fight for $15 crowd is probably the most well-known, but other groups have been pushing for similar increases. One new plan from Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and the think tank, Third Way, would tie an area’s federal minimum wage to its cost of living. This plan reduces the negative effects of a nationwide $15 minimum wage but it still has problems. READ MORE
When will tech worker wages start growing again?
We’re all used to rolling our eyes when we see headlines about the obscene wealth in Silicon Valley: Jeff Bezos making $6.2 billion in 5 minutes, Sean Parker’s $9 million wedding in a redwood forest, tech CEOs building expensive underground bunkers in case of doomsday. READ MORE
Pay higher wages? Here’s what many successful companies are doing
As more middle-market business owners begin bumping compensation to offer their employees a true living wage, they are creating a more empowered workforce with more disposable income. While an unintended consequence might be inflation, in general these wage increases are further strengthening our economy and, by extension, our middle market. READ MORE
2017 was a great year for CEOs. Not so much for the average worker.
The American economy is booming — especially if you’re a CEO.
Earnings for the top executives at America’s largest companies skyrocketed in 2017, while wages for the average worker hardly budged. READ MORE
CEO pay jumps to $19 million annually, as fears mount over the wealthy pocketing gains
Top executives of America’s biggest companies saw their average annual pay surge to $18.9 million in 2017, according to a report released Thursday, fueling concerns about the gulf between the nation’s richest and everyone else. READ MORE
5 Decades Of Middle-Class Wages: July 2018 Update
We've updated this series to include Friday's release of the Consumer Price Index as the deflator and the July monthly employment update. The latest hypothetical real (inflation-adjusted) annual earnings are at $38,279, down 12.5% from 45-plus years ago. READ MORE
How the Push for Greater Compensation Reporting Requirements Could Put Global Companies at Risk
The recent string of headlines about pay gaps has many companies on edge as they adapt to a world of increased compensation reporting requirements. READ MORE
These Are the 25 Highest-Paying Jobs in the U.S. Right Now
For the fourth consecutive year, the technology sector boasted the highest-paying jobs in the U.S., according to an annual report from Glassdoor.
Thirteen of the 25 highest-paying jobs this year were in tech, up from 11 in 2017, according to the report, which was released on Wednesday. Within the industry, enterprise architects, software development managers, software engineering managers and software architects received the highest pay, with the lowest average base salary well over $100,000. READ MORE
Where in the U.S. does your pay go furthest? Try Duluth
The highest paychecks in the U.S. are in San Jose, California, the heart of Silicon Valley, according to a new analysis from job search site Indeed. But what if you don't want to live there, or in nearby San Francisco, where $117,000 a year is considered a low income? READ MORE
If unemployment is so low, why aren’t wages higher?
The Great Recession did a number on many Americans. Apparently, we’re so thankful just to have jobs that some of us didn’t blink an eye when President Trump tweeted that “this is the greatest economy in the HISTORY of America.” READ MORE
In U.S., wage growth is being wiped out entirely by inflation
Rising prices have erased U.S. workers’ meager wage gains, the latest sign strong economic growth has not translated into greater prosperity for the middle and working classes.
Cost of living was up 2.9 percent from July 2017 to July 2018, the Labor Department reported Friday, an inflation rate that outstripped a 2.7 percent increase in wages over the same period. The average U.S. “real wage,” a federal measure of pay that takes inflation into account, fell to $10.76 an hour last month, 2 cents down from where it was a year ago. READ MORE
Productivity and wages: What’s the connection?
Ex-Nike Employees Sue Company, Alleging Unequal Compensation
Four women who used to work for Nike filed a federal lawsuit alleging the company violated state and U.S. equal-pay laws and fostered a work environment that allowed sexual harassment. READ MORE
When Is Compensation Unreasonable?
Just what is reasonable compensation in the Medicare world is not a clearly defined, black and white concept. Instead, it is somewhat in the eye of the beholder, with the parties to each situation where that is an issue seeking to reach out for third party support for their conclusions. But sometimes when the government gets a chance to look at the conclusions, it is a “bridge too far.” READ MORE
For most U.S. workers, real wages have barely budged in decades
On the face of it, these should be heady times for American workers. U.S. unemployment is as low as it’s been in nearly two decades (3.9% as of July) and the nation’s private-sector employers have been adding jobs for 101 straight months – 19.5 million since the Great Recession-related cuts finally abated in early 2010, and 1.5 million just since the beginning of the year. READ MORE
SHOWTIME Series Kills Off Actress Who Complained About Pay Parity
Ruth Wilson’s character, Alison, was killed off in a major surprise last night on Showtime’s “The Affair.” The show was recently renewed for a fifth and final season next year.
Alison was part of the show’s main quadrangle with Dominic West, Joshua Jackson, and Maura Tierney. Wilson won a Golden Globe award for the role. READ MORE
This theory could help explain why wages aren’t rising faster
Wage growth remains stubbornly low — and one trend across many U.S. companies could be contributing to the problem: Cutting middle managers. READ MORE