April 06, 2012
April 6, 2012
One very discouraging item in the latest jobs report was a 0.1 hour drop in the length of the average workweek. While the data are erratic, the drop was driven largely by a decline of 0.3 hours in nondurable manufacturing, a sector where hours tend to be better measured. Wages continue to go nowhere. The average hourly wage has increased at just a 1.85 percent annual rate over the last quarter, which likely puts it behind inflation. The wage for production non-supervisory workers, which better tracks the median wage, increased at just a 1.37 percent annual rate over this period.
For more, check out the latest Jobs Byte.