If it's inflation day, it's also earnings day. Average weekly earnings were down -18 cents from November, which comes to +71 cents after adjusting for (negative!) inflation:
Unfortunately, this is good news. Weak wage growth might be bad for workers, but it's good for inflation. Along with the great CPI numbers, this should go a long way toward convincing the Fed to ease up on the rate hikes.
It's worth noting that real wages have gone up 18.22% since the start of 2019 while inflation has gone up 18.08%. That's a whopping increase of 0.14% above inflation over the course of four years.
Put another way, real workers' wages have gained 35 cents per year since 2019, rising from $1124 to $1125. Now please tell me more about how essential it is to rein in spiraling wages.
Shouldn't Kevin have said "wages" or "gross wages" or some other term instead of "real wages"? And said "real wages" were up 0.14%. I thought "real" meant inflation adjusted?
Yes, looks like it should have been 'nominal wages' to contrast with 'real (i.e., inflation adjusted) wages.' I'm sure he'll fix that, given how strongly he feels about those adjustments. Also -- I really wish he and lots of others would stop writing "inflation has gone up X%" when they mean "the price level has gone up X%" but maybe that's a lost cause.
Agree completely, on both counts. (I logged in to make those points, but you beat me to it.) I also agree that the second one may be a lost cause, but on topics like this, clarity matters, so it's worth the try.
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Came here to make the same comment.
Ease up on their rate hikes? They should just stop hiking and start lowering. It is pretty freaking obvious that they are on track to overshoot right now and regardless of what the GOP and their PR agency, AKA the MSM, says unemployment is far, far worse than inflation.
As of a few months ago, there was a divergence in the rate of wage increases across the income spectrum. Low wage workers were doing well, high wage workers were not.
It's likely that the Fed is aware of this and it has influenced their decision making. We have been warned that wage increases for the general public are dangerous for the economy.