November’s economic reports indicate a slowing of job growth, and a lower than expected wage increase. A report from the US Labor Department indicates that 155,000 jobs were added in November, which is not as many as the predicted 198,000. While this isn’t a bad thing, it’s the lowest performing month in job growth this year. Despite being less than expected, the growth rate still indicates a robust economy.
While the current climate is in good shape overall, some of the numbers that matter to average Americans were not quite as solid as what analysts predicted either. While the unemployment rate has stayed the same multi-decade low, 3.7 percent, most workers would have liked to see an increase in wages in November, which only increased an average of 6-cents hourly. This the same month that Americans spent a record amount of money on shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Unfortunately for most workers, this slow wage increase has been symptomatic of the past 12 months; where a strong economy should be helping increase wages to fend off inflation, US wages have only increased 3.1 percent. Hopefully the economic trends of the past year continue to be in favor of most Americans and not just the top earners at major companies. While things have seemingly improved in the past few years, either because or in spite of the current administration, wages have barely kept up with the rest of the economy.
While the economic improvements of late seem fairly steady, mixed opinions on the direction of the markets will also factor in to the next months, and years to come. Hopefully things continue to improve and volatility in the market does not prevent more growth.
