Some Thoughts on Why Wages Are Allegedly Not Growing

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the July 31, 2017, issue of National Review magazine. After adjusting for inflation, hourly wages in the private sector grew 0.4 percent between April of last year and April of this year. The four-fifths of these workers who labor in production and nonsupervisory roles saw growth of just 0.1 percent. These were surprising numbers, given the state of the economy. Not only are we well into a recovery, but the unemployment rate has finally returned to its pre-recession level. Normally, employers need to start raising wages once they no longer have a deep reserve of unemployed workers they can turn to if someone threatens to quit ...