Newswise — Linda J. Barrington, managing director of the Institute for Compensation Studies at Cornell University’s ILR School, comments on the economic reports released Monday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
She says:
“Combining the personal income data with Friday’s employment cost index, paints a picture of an anemic U.S. labor market with the private sector faring a little better than state and local governments.
“The reported drop in personal income certainly isn’t good news. But, if you take emergency unemployment benefits out of the calculations, personal income did increase slightly in September.
“Employers are spending almost 2 percent more on employee compensation than they were a year ago. The unhappy news for workers is that this growth is driven much more by the rise in costs to employers for providing employee benefits, rather than accelerated wages and salaries.
“This means employee pocketbooks aren’t going to feel much direct boost from higher costs paid out by employers. This is part of the story behind the weakening disposable personal income numbers reported Monday morning.”
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