WASHINGTON (AP)—The U.S. job market has steadily improved by pretty much every gauge except the one Americans probably care about most: Pay.
The unemployment rate has sunk to a nearly normal 6.1 percent. Employers have added a robust 2.5 million jobs the past 12 months. Layoffs have tumbled.
Yet most people are still waiting for a decent raise. Friday’s August jobs report confirmed that average hourly pay has crept up only about 2 percent a year since the recession ended five years ago—barely above inflation and far below the gains in most recoveries.
Just why pay has been so weak and when it might strengthen are key issues for the Federal Reserve in deciding when to raise interest rates.
The trend has mystified analysts.
“This is the primary economic and policy puzzle facing policymakers right now: Why have wages remained so low in the face of an improving economy?” said Joe Brusuelas, chief economist at McGladrey, a tax and accounting firm.
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