Recent wage trends are impressive. Their levels … not so much.
“In a job market like ours, with low union coverage and weak worker bargaining power, it takes persistently low unemployment to drive up the income of low- and moderate-wage workers. The chart distills the problem well by comparing the growth of different types of earners. The most striking finding, obviously, is the rise in wage inequality: Regardless of labor market conditions, the top just keeps pulling ahead. But the other lines tell an important story, too.”