| The same article the GGP linked to explains why wages haven’t grown as quickly: Economists believe that the unemployment rate can dip even further because there's still slack in the job market. Productivity and inflation are lower than in previous periods of growth, and economists believe that has kept a lid on wages. The erosion of workers' bargaining power has also played a role.
Another explanation: Employers are turning to new workers — such as younger people and those just re-entering the job market — to fill positions vacated by better-paid veteran workers who are either retiring or taking new positions elsewhere.
Economists are confident that wages will keep climbing as competition for workers grows.
Dozens of companies have already announced pay hikes and more attractive benefits to lure workers. On Thursday, Costco said it would raise starting wages for US employees by $1, to a minimum of $14 an hour. What do you find unsatisfactory about these explanations? > But the combination means that there's a problem, because in a free market you would expect the opposite: in times of low unemployment, companies would need to increase wages to attract employees. That this is not happening is a blow against... It sounds like you’re setting up a strawman and attacking it. See above. > because the labor market doesn't behave like a free market. No one believes the labor market is or behaves like a free market. Again, this is a strawman. |
There isn't "still" slack, the slack is growing as the laborforce participation rate is lower today than it was in 2013. How can it be in a "booming" economy that fewer people want to work and real wages are also falling? I haven't seen an economic explanation for this.
>The erosion of workers' bargaining power has also played a role.
A result of de-regulation, no?
>What do you find unsatisfactory about these explanations?
The lack of evidence that they are more than just theories, I want the data.