In December 2018, average hourly earnings in the United States increased by 3.2 percent from December 2017, the highest rate increase since May 2009. In addition, due to low inflation American workers saw the largest improvement in real hourly earnings since August 2016. Wages grew because the labor market tightened, as indicated by the historically low unemployment rates.
Since rising wages, in general, mean higher inflation, the Federal Reserve may respond by increasing interest rates to stall business demand for labor and, consequently, wage growth. The Fed increased rates four times last year. Yet given current conditions, including inflation that’s within the Fed’s target range, slowing global growth, and a strong labor market, the central bank may opt to postpone another hike. If the Fed keeps interest rates flat in 2019, watch for continued record growth in real wages.
The US H-1B visa program that allows educated foreign professionals to work in the United States is taking a hit under the Trump Administration. In 2019, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) denied about 15 percent of H-1B visa petitions, a notable shift from 2015 when the denial rate was 4 percent, a rate second only to L-1A and L-1B visas, which now have a 28 percent denial rate. The Administration’s “put American workers first” policy seeks to improve Americans' welfare by reducing the inflow of low-paid labor. Toward that end, within the realm of work visas, the...
The real estate world has taken its share of the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic, as people empty out of offices, hotels, and malls and work from their homes. Economic activity in construction and real-estate contracted sharply this year under the weight of the pandemic, with the largest decline yet recorded in April, according to the US Federal Reserve. LinkUp jobs data suggests the situation in the real estate industry will remain tough in June. In the three months between February and April, new private housing building permits in the United States declined 30 percent compared...
Employees choose employers, just as employers choose employees. And, companies like Glassdoor make it easier than ever for people to move beyond annual salary and statistics on the highest paying jobs—none of which they may even be qualified for—in their evaluation of potential employers. Through regular surveys of employees, Glassdoor develops city-based job satisfaction ratings that account for work-life balance, cost of living, and competition among employees or, in other words, hiring opportunities. Glassdoor then ranks the most desirable cities for employment based on its...
If you are currently practicing medicine, architectural design, petroleum engineering, marketing, or law you are among the lucky in the best-paying career fields in the US. If, however, you are in school now then you should consider occupations such as wind turbine service technician and occupational or physical therapy assistant, fields which sources expect will be fast growing during the next 10 years. If you want both, a high-salary and fast-growing career, move into or study anesthesiology. These insights are provided by the Occupation Employment Statistics program (OES) of the...
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