[excuse-me]

That's also the reason why the job-hop to get a raise is so common.

Pay rises are multipliers on your current salary - which is based on when in the boom/bust cycle you got hired. If you were hired in a bust you can get the maximum raise every year but at the end you will still be getting less than someone hired in a boom.

[dredmorbius]

Which economists are now starting to realize has permanent lifetime effects on individuals (at least in aggregate): http://www.nber.org/digest/nov06/w12159.html