Many U.S. workers are seeing bigger paychecks in pandemic era, but gains aren’t spread evenly
American workers in some sectors and industries are seeing far smaller wage gains than those in others.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
American workers in some sectors and industries are seeing far smaller wage gains than those in others.
Despite some ups and downs over the past several decades, today’s real average wage in the U.S. has about the same purchasing power it did 40 years ago. And most of what wage gains there have been have flowed to the highest-paid tier of workers.
Just what is “economic inequality”? Depends on whom you ask.
Though crude oil continues to be the nation’s single biggest import, energy exports have risen sharply. Exports of some metals and agricultural products also have grown rapidly.
Perhaps surprisingly, not very many people earn minimum wage, and they make up a smaller share of the workforce than they used to.
A New York Times chart illustrates disparities in income growth between the U.S. and other advanced economies.
Two-thirds of Americans say the gap between the rich and everyone else has increased, but when asked why they cite dozens of different reasons.
U.S. employment has become more concentrated in the largest occupational categories, and well-paying jobs account for a smaller share of those large categories than they did a decade or so ago.
How people’s incomes and jobs as adults compare with the households they grew up in.
With issues of economic inequality becoming more prominent, a “5 Facts” primer.
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