Unemployment data not really that good. (2005 Alamogordo Daily News)
To the Editor:
I read an Associated Press article that says unemployment is down to 4.9%, and the average weekly wage is “up” to $544.59. That is not so good.
Last year, the MEDIAN weekly salary for all workers was $638. That means if you have 10 workers, the first four earn less than $638 a week, let’s say two earn exactly that, and the top four earn more.
When the AVERAGE is lower than the MEDIAN, that means the lower four earn, say, $200 a week, two earn $638, and the top four earn $843 a week (add up and divide by 10, averages to $544.80). So the lower-paid workers get paid a LOT less, and the ones that get paid above average are only modestly higher.
Furthermore, these figures aren’t adjusted for inflation. Because of Hurricane Katrina, gas prices alone will make inflation a lot higher this year. The most recent figures I could find show that the salary increase from 2003 to 2004 was only 2.2% for the average worker (2.7% for union workers). Since inflation was around 2.5%, most workers lost out since only 12.5% of US workers are represented by unions. Looks like American workers will be even worse off this year.
The rich are doing fine under the Republican administration, of course. The salary increase for company CEO’s from 2003 to 2004 was 12%. Average weekly salary? Almost $190,000.
Ellen Wedum