Why Wages Are Finally Rising, 10 Years After the Recession
Casselman notes:
“The recent uptick in wage growth suggests a simpler explanation: Perhaps the job market wasn’t as good as the unemployment rate made it look.
The government’s official definition of unemployment is relatively narrow. It counts only people actively looking for work, which means it leaves out many students, stay-at-home parents or others who might like jobs if they were available. If employers have been tapping into that broader pool of potential labor, it could help explain why they haven’t been forced to raise wages faster.”
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Even as the labor market tightens (unemployment is below 4%), labor force participation rate remains surprisingly weak:
