Catherwood LibraryILR School

With the economy beginning to slow, the current expansion has a chance to become the first sustained period of economic growth since World War II that fails to offer a prolonged increase in real wages for most workers. The median hourly wage for American workers has declined 2 percent since 2003, after factoring in inflation. The drop has been especially notable, economists say, because productivity has risen steadily over the same period. As a result, wages and salaries now make up the lowest share of the nation?s gross domestic product since the government began recording the data in 1947, while corporate profits have climbed to their highest share since the 1960's.