Wage Stagnation

[LC]

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-majority-of-americans-did-not-get-a-pay-raise-this-year-2018-12-12

 

More than 60% of Americans said they didn’t get a pay raise at their current job or get a better-paying job in the last 12 months, according to a survey released Wednesday from finance site Bankrate.com. Meanwhile, executives have seen a surge in compensation, according to an August study from the Economic Policy Institute. The average chief executive officer at the 350 largest firms in the U.S. received $18.9 million in compensation in 2017, the study showed, a 17.6% increase over 2016.

 

[Cardboard]

Did you get a raise?

[DTEJD1997]

hey all:

 

Low level attorneys in the Detroit metro area have generally gotten SMALL raises over the past 3 years.  Going rate used to be $21/hour.  Now it is split between $23/hour on the low end to $25/hour at the higher end.

 

I also was at a Popeye's Chicken the other day and they were giving everybody who crossed their threshold a small flyer saying their workers STARTED at a minimum of $10/hour and you might even make more than that if you worked nights/weekends.

 

So wages are definitely going up, at least here in MI.

[LC]

I also was at a Popeye's Chicken the other day and they were giving everybody who crossed their threshold a small flyer saying their workers STARTED at a minimum of $10/hour and you might even make more than that if you worked nights/weekends.

 

I remember making $9/hr as a grocery bagger over 15 years ago, and $12/hr at Starbucks over 10 years ago at entry level. And this was not in a metro area like Detroit.

[rkbabang]

I made $3.75/hr as a grocery bagger in 1988.  That would be the equivalent of $8.16 today, so $10 today isn't too bad and $10 15 years ago would have been excellent.  Are you sure you are remembering correctly?

 

 

[LC]

I made $3.75/hr as a grocery bagger in 1988.  That would be the equivalent of $8.16 today, so $10 today isn't too bad and $10 15 years ago would have been excellent.  Are you sure you are remembering correctly?

 

I think so... I was just under $10/hr as a bagger and just over $10 as a "barista". I remember getting a quarter raise as a bagger after about a year and sarcastically thinking to myself, "well if I just sit here for 3 more years I'll finally clear the $10 mark."

 

But to be fair, Starbucks has always treated their employees pretty well compared to other entry-level fast food chains. I think I even got some shares after aw hile. And the grocer I worked for could be thought of as a regional Whole Foods type (i.e. slightly higher price:value), and was family owned with owners who took pride in caring for their employees.

[rkbabang]

I made $3.75/hr as a grocery bagger in 1988.  That would be the equivalent of $8.16 today, so $10 today isn't too bad and $10 15 years ago would have been excellent.  Are you sure you are remembering correctly?

 

I think so... I was just under $10/hr as a bagger and just over $10 as a "barista". I remember getting a quarter raise as a bagger after about a year and sarcastically thinking to myself, "well if I just sit here for 3 more years I'll finally clear the $10 mark."

 

But to be fair, Starbucks has always treated their employees pretty well compared to other entry-level fast food chains. I think I even got some shares after aw hile. And the grocer I worked for could be thought of as a regional Whole Foods type (i.e. slightly higher price:value), and was family owned with owners who took pride in caring for their employees.

 

Damn, not bad.  In the mid-1990s I worked at NYNEX (Verizon now) as a splice technician, had my own truck, spent the day climbing telephone poles splicing large cables together (up to 800 pairs), replacing drop wires to houses and buildings, and occasionally going out on repair calls if the repair guys were swamped.  I made $8 and change per hour.  Not too long after that you where making over $9 to bag groceries!

 

[LC]

I think the they could afford such wages because the owner/founder happened to be committing tax fraud  ::) ::) ::)

 

In 1993, Stew Leonard, Sr. was convicted of having committed tax fraud via an elaborate scheme to divert more than $17.1 million in cash register receipts over a 10-year period.[16][17][7] The fraud, which involved a computer program designed to skim off sales, was directed by Stew Leonard, Sr., in concert with the company's CFO and store manager. Skimmed cash was placed in bundles in Leonard, Sr.'s office fireplace, to be later moved offshore or disguised as gifts.[18][19] Leonard, Sr. was caught in June 1991 carrying $80,000 cash en route to the island of Saint Martin.[18][20]

 

Leonard, Sr. pled guilty to the charges and, in 1993, was sentenced to 52 months in prison.[21][7] He ultimately served 44 months before being released in June 1997.[22]

 

In 1993, shortly after Stew Leonard, Sr. and three other company executives had pled guilty in the tax fraud case, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection charged Stew Leonard's with short-weighting customers on multiple products. The department measured a 47% violation rate, compared with a statewide average of 7.2%. Stew Leonard, Jr. and Tom Leonard denied that these actions were intentional and claimed, "a larger percentage of products checked were, in fact, overweight than underweight", and, "we corrected every [mistake] before the inspector even left the store."[23]

 

[rkbabang]

I think the they could afford such wages because the owner/founder happened to be committing tax fraud  ::) ::) ::)

 

Ha! Good for them passing some of their savings down to their employees.  Sounds like good people.

 

[Cigarbutt]

hey all:

 

Low level attorneys in the Detroit metro area have generally gotten SMALL raises over the past 3 years.  Going rate used to be $21/hour.  Now it is split between $23/hour on the low end to $25/hour at the higher end.

 

I also was at a Popeye's Chicken the other day and they were giving everybody who crossed their threshold a small flyer saying their workers STARTED at a minimum of $10/hour and you might even make more than that if you worked nights/weekends.

 

So wages are definitely going up, at least here in MI.

Your contextual evaluation does not seem to show up in numbers overall:

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSMIA672N

 

Interesting to note that real household median income was at the same level in 1987 (32 years ago!).

You could argue that household size has gotten smaller since 1987. So, if Michigan follows your nation, since 1987, average household size has decreased from 2.65 to 2.55 which means that the median individual has achieved 0.2% CAGR of real wages since 1987.

 

Last week, one of my girls obtained an additional swimming certification (she works in a water park during the summer) and, because of that, her hourly rate went from 10.45 to 10.80 ($CDN) and she was elated. It doesn't require a lot to be satisfied but one does need to get ahead.