March 28, 2024

Hoyer: Slower Wage Growth Continues

Economy

The November 2019 jobs report continues to show slower wage growth, though it reflects steady employment gains that reach back more than nine years, well into the Obama presidency, said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD).

The congressman said that House Democrats are determined not to allow limits on the country’s economic progress, which is why Democrats have pursued a “steady program of legislation aimed at broadening access to opportunity, making our economy more competitive, and helping workers and entrepreneurs get ahead.”

“It’s why we passed legislation to raise wages and close the gender pay gap,” Mr. Hoyer said.

Congressman Hoyer also sends weekly economic reports to House members as concern with the economy grows. Some of his points on the heels of the release of November’s jobs report are:

  • Wage growth slows. “Many hoped this would be the year wages really accelerated. After all, business leaders have been complaining for months they can’t find enough workers — both highly skilled and not — and the natural response to that is usually to bump up pay. But wage growth peaked in February at 3.4 percent and has pulled back since then, puzzling economists … What’s clear is that the stock market is at record highs and many companies are having another very profitable year, yet the share of the economic ‘pie’ going to workers remains at a 70-year low. And it does not show any signs of rebounding, even in a hot job market.” [The Washington Post, 12/04/19]
  • The wealth divide across generations is especially wide for millennials. “Millennials haven’t hit the 35 mark yet — that won’t happen until about 2023 — but their financial situation is relatively dire. They own just 3.2 percent of the nation’s wealth. To catch up to Gen Xers, they’d need to triple their wealth in just four years. To reach boomers, their net worth would need a sevenfold jump.” [The Washington Post, 12/03/19]
  • The November jobs report was strong, but a year of limited economic progress is telling. “The strong jobs report comes amid a challenging year for the US economy. Recession fears surged in late-summer amid worries that a global slowdown would spread to American shores. The back-and-forth lobbing of tariffs between the US and China also raised fears of instability, and the bond market sent what has been a reliable recession indicator when short-term government yields rose above their longer-term counterparts. The Fed reacted by cutting its benchmark interest rate three times, part of what officials deemed insurance against a potential slowdown.” [CNBC, 12/6/19]

Follow Congressman Hoyer on Facebook and Twitter.

For more information about House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, visit his Leader member page.

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