Wages for the 1% just reached their highest level ever

The 1% has never had it so good.

The average wage for the top 1% of income earners hit $719,000 per year in 2017, up 3.7% on the year, exceeding their peak of $716,000 per year just before the Great Recession, according to a report released Thursday by the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive, nonprofit think tank, citing data from the Social Security Administration. The average wage for the top 0.1% reached $2.7 million in 2017, the second-highest level ever, just 4% below their level in 2007. However, wages for the 0.1% rose 8% on the year in 2017. READ MORE

Some worrying and not so worrying causes of slow wage growth

Last month’s jobs report from the Department of Labor reported that average earnings grew by 2.8 percent over the year ending in August. This is an improvement on wage growth, but subtracting inflation of maybe 2.2 percent from this figure yields wage growth that will double inflation-adjusted take-home pay every 115 years or so. Over the past few years, three explanations have emerged for persistently slower wage growth. They are not mutually exclusive. Let me explain them in turn from benign to very problematic. READ MORE

When Employers Demand a Salary Range From Applicants but Refuse to Suggest One

Of all the weird and frankly nonsensical practices that companies use in hiring, probably none are as bizarre as our conventions around negotiating salary. Given that paying employees money in exchange for their labor is what hiring is all about, you’d think that salary would be discussed early, clearly, and directly in any hiring process. But for some reason that approach is more the exception than the rule. Instead, many employers play coy games around salary, hiding what they plan to pay and even taking offense when candidates bring up money. READ MORE

Why Amazon's minimum wage hike was 'inevitable', and others may soon follow in its footsteps

Amazon employees who package your order will soon be getting paid more. But will you be paying more because of it?

On November 1st, Amazon is expected to hike its minimum hourly employee wage to $15. The move will impact 250,000 current employees, plus 100,000 seasonal workers. That rate exceeds the federal rate, which has remained at $7.25 an hour for nearly a decade. READ MORE