Partying (sadly) like it’s 1999
by digby
More proof that whatever growth we have in this economy, the effects aren’t being widely shared:
Last year the median wage hit its lowest level since 1998, revealing that at least half of American workers are being left behind as the economy slowly recovers from the Great Recession.
But at the top, wages soared — the latest indication in a long-running trend of increasing inequality, with income gains going to top earners while the majority of workers see stagnant or falling wages.
The median wage — half of workers make more, half less — came to $27,519 last year, virtually unchanged from 2011. Measured in 2012 dollars, the median wage was down $4.
The 2012 median wage was at its lowest level since 1998, when the median stood at $26,984.
From its all-time peak in 2007, the median wage was down $980. That means someone at the midpoint in pay worked 52 weeks last year but earned about the equivalent of working just 50 weeks at 2007 pay levels, the last peak year for the economy.
The good news is that the average wage is up to $42,498. The bad news is that:
…when the average wage grows but the median wage stagnates, it means that, statistically, only workers in the top half of the job market are experiencing increases. My analysis of SSA data shows the growth is mostly in the top quarter, which starts at just under $50,000 in annual pay.
In 2012, the data show, 67. 1 percent of workers earned less than the average, up from 66.6 percent in 2011 and 65.9 percent in 2000. When a rising share of workers makes less than the average wage, it is another sign that wage increases are taking place only high on the income ladder, not on every rung.
There’s money in this economy. And a few members of the upper middle class are getting a small taste. But it’s the 1% that’s still taking the largest share:
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