President Donald J. Trump listens as Candace Owens addresses her remarks at the Young Black Leadership Summit 2019 Friday, October 4, 2019, in the East Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour)
Although last Friday’s employment report showed fewer new jobs and slowing wage gains, there is still good news. The big picture is that the longest hiring expansion in 80 years is lifting lower-income workers in particular, reports James Freeman in the WSJ.
As accumulating evidence shows, the jobless rate remains steady at 3.5% (labor participation held at its recent high of 63.2%).
Most of the slowdown appears to be trade-related and/or reflects lower business investment.
Comparative Data Mostly Ignored by the Press
Below are the first 11 quarters of the Trump Presidency, according to the latest demographic data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
- Wages for the bottom 10% of earners over age 25 rose an average 5.9% annually compared to 2.4% during Barack Obama’s second term.
- Wages for the middle two quartiles increased 3.2% compared to 2.2% and 2.7% between 2012 and 2016.
- Wage gains for the top 10% have held steady at about 3%.
- Wages have risen at a 6.1% annual clip for workers over 25 without a high school degree.
- Wage gains have risen by 3.9% for those with some college—both about three times faster than during the second Obama term.
- Wage gains have accelerated though to a lesser degree—to 3.2% from 2.2%—for college grads.
Freeman’s Irony Alert
Socialism-loving young people are getting the biggest pay raises. Wages have increased on average 5.8% annually for teens, 4.4% for 20 to 24-year-olds and 4.8% for 25 to 34-year-olds during the Trump Presidency.
As incomes rise for millennials, will they question the “tale of woe and revolution promoted by Bernie Sanders?”
Trump’s Pro-Growth Policies Have Reduced Income Inequality
Rising wages have lifted millions of Americans out of poverty and off the government dole.
The poverty rate for blacks (20.8%) and Hispanics (17.6%) is the lowest on record.
Read more from Freeman here.
Read more about the Trump Economy here.
