Why aren't wages growing faster?

Perhaps the economy still isn't as hot as you think

A fast food worker.
(Image credit: REMY GABALDA/AFP/Getty Images)

At first blush, America got a doozy of a jobs report last week. Employment jumped by 313,000, its biggest single-month gain since mid-2016. But there also was some attendant weirdness: The unemployment rate didn't budge, and, worse, wage growth actually slowed down.

That dip in wages, in particular, reveals a lot about America's economy.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.