Income Hasn’t Fallen Like Federal Labor Statistics Show, Experts Argue

Data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows American workers’ share of income continually falling. Although some pundits looked at these numbers and concluded the economy has shifted against workers, labor economist James Sherk says a deeper look at the data reveals that in fact many workers take home about what their counterparts did in 1948. “Every dollar earned or spent ultimately goes to labor or capital,” Sherk, a research fellow in labor economics at The Heritage Foundation, wrote in a recent report. “For example, the money that drivers spend on gas goes toward paying the employees who drilled, refined, and transported that oil or the shareholders of the companies they work for. Economists call the proportion of income going to employees the ‘labor share of income.’” Read more....