the DON JONES INDEX…

 

 

GAINS POSTED in GREEN

LOSSES POSTED in RED

 

  9/10/22...      14,903.37

    9/3/22...      14,907.62

   6/27/13…     15,000.00

 

 

(THE DOW JONES INDEX:  9/10/22… 32,151.71; 9/3/22… 31,318.44; 6/27/13… 15,000.00)

 

 

LESSON for September 10, 2022 – “LABOUR’S LOVE LOST (and found?)!”

 

labor Day has come and passed – now who’s the biggest fool at last?

President Joe?  He had no choice of commanding words, if not deeds, to puff himself up with a homilistic State of the Money address (See Attachment One) and some slightly homicidal speeches in Milwaukee and Pittsburgh for the holiday insinuating the his friends in the Republican Party were... well... semi–fascists, hence deserving of a perhaps “lite” version of the sort of justice that America dealt out to Hitler and Tojo and Mussolini.

His pre-Elizabethian ebullience was bolstered by intelligence from Pete Buttigieg that boosted and buttrussed the President’s policies; by new British PM Liz Truss’s accession and benediction by QE2 who then died on the following day, leaving the U.K. (and the world) in the grasp of King Charles the Third – his dubious provenance and consort (not Queen, pointedly) Camilla, and his commitment to environmentalism and the war on climate change.

Climate change, in fact, comprises half the meat in the steak and kidney pie that was Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act... the other half being a prospective lowering of prescription drug prices.  (The actual inflection on inflation was, in fact, miniscule – but poll after poll after poll showed that Don Jones will be voicing his choices in November based on prices at the pump and in the salty snacks aisle at the local supermarket, so... IRA it became, was, is and will be.)

Along with the polls came the stats... like the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics reckonings (such as we faithrully reproduce every month so in our Index below)... which Second Quarter findings found that wages were up by 1.4 percent but down 3.5 percent once calculated for inflation.  (See Attachment Two)  These numbers clearly have credence because of the fact that the reporting network, CNN, solicited an Actual Harvard Graduate to pronounce the provenances and parameters the paperwork.

Much publicized of late, including within our Lesson of last week, has been the post-plague phenomenon of “the Great Resignation” (or, to the employer class and their sympathizers, “quiet quitting”).  The common grounding to both the corporate and labor partisans here, in the U.K., E.U. and not even disincluding outliers like China has been, of course, that wages have not kept up with inflation despite a few noble and notable exceptions and, moreover, employees are gauging the increase in working hours, speedups and intuiting a general sense of disrespect emanating from the boss’ office and are becoming less and less productive... sometimes to the point where some are doing a “bare minimum” at their tasks to shift the burden on to management as to whether to lose (or, in most cases, make a little less) money or to fire the miscreants amidst an easing but still potent worker shortage.

A comparable, but dissenting view... emanating from the formerly quiescent but not nascent labor movement... is that, instead of quiet quitting to ameliorate falling real wages, rising hours and systemic disrespect, the damned and the disgruntled should go back to the past and join or form unions.  And, in fact, some are doing just that – the latest strike-promoting strife is at the freight rail tracks and depots, where workers are poised to walk off the job.  Don Jones can’t really begrudge the small passthrough on consumables any settlement will cost, but if a strike does occur and does last, the supply chain will rust even more and perhaps snap altogether, inflation will soar, empty shelves manifest and living standards will fall even further.

Somebody... probably in China... sat under a tree, drinking tea and pronouncing Wise Sayings like: “If you receive what you wish for, you may regret it.”  Or words to that effect.

 

A Third View... neither corporate nor cowardly and caviling quiet-quitting wage slave induced... has been promulgated by this Index, the CNC and 2024 campaigns of Jack “Catfish Parnell and Austin Tillerman – gumment acknowledgment of the different status between paid work or enterprise that produces useful things as people want to buy as opposed to the financial chicanery (rents, banking shenanigans, hedge funds, crypto etc.) that has so many parasites climbing to the stars atop the groaning backs of those still on the bottom of America’s pickle barrel.

This Lesson will be updated Tuesday or Wednesday when the Federal Reserve announces whether or not they will raise interest rates, by how much, and upon whom the “pain” will fall.

 

 

 

September 3rd – September 9th, 2022

 

 

Saturday, September 3, 2022

Dow:  31,318.44

 

 

It’s National Cinema Day.  In the face of declining box offices and theatrical bankruptcies, Hollywood resorts to gimmicks... today, for example, all shows at all theatres (matinees and midnight specials included) will charge a pre-pandemic, pre-inflation ticket price of $3.00.  Unfortunately, the weak lineup of first run movies fail to move behinds off their couches and into the metroplexes.

   Failure is, in fact on the wind.  Whether it’s relief at the perceived lessening of the plague (it’s not but, with the new vaxxes and remedies at hand, fewer Joneses are being hospitalized or buried), air travel is back up, but with a rotted out, decaying infrastructure, surly passengers and flight attendants and a pilot strike, getting where you’re going is getting harder. 

   And the big, big rockets are failing even more egregiously than the smaller jets... Artemis (scheduled to lift off at 2 PM, the height of college football’s Opening Day) fails again for more or less the same reason... leaking hydrogen.  They’ll try again later in the month, or maybe in October.  Halloween?  Day of the Dead?  The ever-ebulliant Bill Nelson assures America that the outcome was only the second worst possibility... trailing an attempted launch and explosion on the pad or loss of control that sent the mission adrift in the cosmos.

   There’s bad news on the legal front for former President Trump; good news, though, for former President Obama – he wins an Emmy for narrating a nature documentary.

 

 

Sunday, September 4th, 2022

Dow: Closed

 

 

Nature... uh, that is also problematical, if not downright hostile.  The usual suspects in the West are arrayed... triple digit heat indices, high winds, wildfires... and add to that flooding rains in the East

   Punday Sundit spectaculars poke and prod at the corpse of Djonald Unelected’s Mar-a-Lago fistful of secret documents while the usual suspects mouth the usual partisan pablum.  A women’s groupie contends that the Roe decision has turned November’s Red Tide into a Purple Haze.  Djonald’s own “Bikers for Trump (and Dr. Oz!”) rally elicits promises of pardons for everybody and Washington’s Little Macs (McCarthy and McConnell) join the chorus wailing that the One Six Inquisition is... go figure!... a witch hunt.  Everybody has kind words for Ukraine’s Zelensky but... asked if America will move to designate Russia a sponsor of state terrorism, President Joe scowls “No!”

   Free enterprise steps in where government fails... Dolly Parton introduces her signature line of clothes for canines, dubbed... what else?... “Doggy Parton.”

 

 

 

Monday, September 5th, 2022

Dow:  Closed

 

 

And... it’s Labor Day.  (See above for details)

   In exclusive interview, Zelensky reiterates his desire for Russia to be designated a sponsor of State Terrism and deckares that there will be no cease fire negotiation because... a sponsor of state terrorism... Russia is beyond the reach of reason so “no deals!” 

   Independent contractors deal independently as mass stabbings transpire in... of all places!.. Canada.  Ten are killed.  Ten more die in Puget Sound naval disaster, ten more shot in an Ohio bar.

 

   The Index says bye bye BoJo... Thatcher wannabe Liz Truss is sworn as England’s new PM by QE2 in her castle in Scotland and Brits sing “Na Na Hey Hey, Goodbye!” to BoJo.  Further south, in Wembley Stadium, the Foo Fighters hold a memorial concert for dead drummer Taylor Hawkins with oodles of celebrities: aging rock icons like AC DC, Rush and (without Freddie Mercury) Queen, even Sir Paul.  A good time is had by all including Scots author J. K. Rowling, a friend of the Queen (the monarch not the band) – see here.

 

 

 

Tuesday, September 6th, 2022

Dow:  31,145.20

 

 

 

 

 

Labor Day over, it’s now National Read-a-Book Day.

Finally, there’s good news for President Trump as Aileen Cannon, the Florida judge personally appointed to the bench rules that he is, indeed, entitled to a Special Master, (whips, chains, leather mask optional) and opines that he is “in a league of his own.”  Critics cluck.  Ol’ 45 rambles about bird cemetaries. 

President Zelenskyy interviewed by Gavin... check that, John... Muir calls Russian regime “unacceptable” and says he will not negotiate.  Putin, for his part, steps up shelling in and around the Zaporizizha nuclear plant, worrying U.N. inspectors and, running out of arms and ammos, buys more from NoKo and Iran.  He also jails a hostile journalist 22 years for “treason”.

Southern California joins in the fire season with big killer blaze in Hemet – thousands evacuated. Brownouts and blackouts multiply and temperatures in Livermore hit 116°.

 

 

 

Wednesday, September 7th, 2022

Dow:  31,584.28

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s National Beer Day.  Also Disney day as fires in and around Anaheim menace the Magic Kingdom.  A cold beer would come in handy to heatstroked Californios as the West records 75 daily and 15 all time record highs.  It’s so bad that they’re welcoming the approach of weird Hurrican Kay in the Pacific.

   Sad Vlad meets Xi in Uzbekistan, make plans to conquer the world and he begs for arms and money.  Here, uninformed sources don’t know, but speculate, who Trump’s pet judge will appoint as his Special Master.  Rudy?  Ozzie?

   Crime waves reported lessened in New York, but not California, which catches a killer cop or Memphis, where a cute white jogger is kidnapped and murdered.  Suspect captured, just released on soft sentence for previous atrocities,  Up in Canada, one of the two mass stabbers is found dead of mysterious causes, the other is captured, then dies.  Also mysteriously.

 

 

 

Thursday, September 8th, 2022

 Dow:  31,774.52

 

 

 

 

 

More Memphis blues again – random shooter kills four, wounds more.  Just driving around.  But the FBI has a plan to stop crime... they put the owner of a porno website on their Most Wanted List and Florida prostitution sting bags a cop.

   Dancing dancers are named by ABC... no crazies in the crowd this year: contestants include Charlie’s Cheryl Ladd, housewife Teresa Giudice, a mom and daughter TikTokTeam, a drag queen and lots more actors.

   Apple releases iPhone 14.  Privileged 14 year olds swarm to buy.  But inflation is causing less money for pet care, leading to cheap dogfood and abandonments.  And there’s also a dog flu to accompany bird flu. 

  

 

 

Friday, September 9th, 2022

Dow:  32,151.71

 

 

 

The world pays tribute to QE2.

   Prince-become-King Charles III returns with Queen Consort (not Queen) Camilla from Balmoral to London to address the nation and world from Buckingham Palace.  He and Princess Anne were with the Queen at the end... grandsons William and Harry arrived too late.  Prince Andrew was... somewhere.  There will be ten days of mourning but the actual coronation is not expected to occur until the spring or summer of next year.

   World leaders, celebrities and tabloid triflers pitch in their tuppence... Mark Phillips of CBS says she was “Queen of the World”, author and “Royal Expert” Tina Brown said she was “above politics” and “ready for Death”.  Various foreigners hailed her as a “grand and beautiful lady”, a “stateswoman of unmatched dignity” and even Vladimir Putin recalled her rapport with “the ordinary people.” 

   Sir Paul recalled her sense of humour and Sir Elton, in concert, dedicated “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” to QE2.  Former US ambassador Jane Hartley cited “a woman from California” who said that the Queen had been “our Queen, too.”

  

 

The prospect of an inter-Britain Brexit-up is looming as the colonials, who were mesmerized by the strong, yet decent hand of QE2 now face an uncertain future under an uncertain King Charles III.  The consequent drop in the Don... which would have been much larger over in London and the like amidst the Clives and the Nigels and the Colins... cancelled out a rising Dow, itself battered by a Federal Reserve apparently following the wind as regards rate hikes; more expected next week.  The dance between fighting inflation and succumbing to recession (or worse) is turning marathonical.

 

 

 

 

 

THE DON JONES INDEX

 

CHART of CATEGORIES w/VALUE ADDED to EQUAL BASELINE of 15,000

(REFLECTING… approximately… DOW JONES INDEX of June 27, 2013)

 

See a further explanation of categories here

 

ECONOMIC INDICES (60%)

CATEGORY

VALUE

BASE

RESULTS

SCORE

OUR SOURCES and COMMENTS

 

INCOME

(24%)

6/17/13 & 1/1/22

LAST

CHANGE

NEXT

9/3/22

9/3/22

SOURCE

 

Wages (hrly. per cap)

9%

1350 points

9/3/22

+0.44%

9/22

1,381.63

1,381.63

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/wages   27.57 nc

 

Median Inc. (yearly)

4%

600

9/3/22

+0.03%

9/17/22

603.76

603.79

http://www.usdebtclock.org/   36,010

 

Unempl. (BLS – in mi)

4%

600

9/3/22

-5.41%

9/22

616.25

616.25

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000/  3.7%

 

Official (DC – in mi)

2%

300

9/3/22

-0.14%

9/17/22

315.41

315.86

http://www.usdebtclock.org/      5,620

 

Unofficl. (DC – in mi)

2%

300

9/3/22

+0.03%

9/17/22

286.31

286.22

http://www.usdebtclock.org/    11,829

 

Workforce Particip.

   Number

   Percent

2%

300

9/3/22

 

+0.007%           -0.007%

9/17/22

 

 

299.74

 

 

299.72

In 158,356 Out  100,157 Total: 258,513

 

http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 61.26

 

WP %  (ycharts)*

1%

150

9/3/22

+0.48%

9/3/22

150.48

150.48

https://ycharts.com/indicators/labor_force_participation_rate  62.40

 

 

OUTGO

15%

 

 

 

Total Inflation

7%

1050

8/22

 nc

9/17/22

1010.64

1010.64

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm     +0.0 nc

 

Food

2%

300

8/22

+1.1%

9/17/22

289.34

286.15

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm     +1.1

 

Gasoline

2%

300

8/22

-7.7%

9/17/22

221.46

238.50

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm      -7.7

 

Medical Costs

2%

300

8/22

+0.4%

9/17/22

293.45

292.28

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm     +0.4

 

Shelter

2%

300

8/22

+0.5%

9/17/22

293.46

291.99

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm     +0.5

 

 

WEALTH

6%

 

 

 

Dow Jones Index

2%

300

9/3/22

-2.66%

9/17/22

260.91

267.85

https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/index/   32,151.71

 

Home (Sales)

(Valuation)

1%

1%

150

150

9/3/22

-6.05%             -2.93%

9/17/22

154.06

309.58

154.06

309.58

https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics

Sales (M):  4.81 Valuations (K):  403.8

 

Debt (Personal)

2%

300

9/3/22

+0.11%

9/17/22

290.61

290.28

http://www.usdebtclock.org/    70,962

 

 

NATIONAL

(10%)

 

 

 

Revenue (trilns.)

2%

300

9/3/22

+0.18%

9/17/22

325.19

325.77

debtclock.org/       4,456

 

Expenditures (tr.)

2%

300

9/3/22

+0.30%

9/17/22

331.13

332.14

debtclock.org/       5,903

 

National Debt tr.)

3%

450

9/3/22

+0.05%

9/17/22

441.66

441.43

http://www.usdebtclock.org/    30,879

 

Aggregate Debt (tr.)

3%

450

9/3/22

+0.16%

9/17/22

437.51

436.83

http://www.usdebtclock.org/    92,572

 

 

 

 

GLOBAL

(5%)

 

 

 

Foreign Debt (tr.)

2%

300

9/3/22

+0.03%

9/17/22

325.47

325.58

http://www.usdebtclock.org/   7,413

 

Exports (in billions)

1%

150

9/3/22

+1.60%

9/22

163.46

163.46

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/index.html  260.0

 

Imports (bl.)

1%

150

9/3/22

+0.29%

9/22

153.99

153.99

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/index.html  340.4

 

Trade Deficit (bl.)

1%

150

9/3/22

-7.41%

9/22

210.77

210.77

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/index.html    79.6

 

 

 

SOCIAL INDICES  (40%) 

 

 

 

ACTS of MAN

12%

 

 

 

World Affairs

3%

450

9/3/22

  -1.5%

9/17/22

465.51

458.53

Beloved QE2 meets, greets new PM Liz Truss, then dies, leaving the realm in the wobbly hands of Charles III as the colonies plot revolt.  (See above)  Foo Fighters’ tribute to dead drummer Hawkins at Wembley, UK draws 75K; guests include Sir Paul and JDs (juvenile drummers).  Putin and Xi meet in Uzbekistan to plot world domination.

 

Terrorism

2%

300

9/3/22

  -0.2%

9/17/22

296.60

296.01

Mass stabber brothers kill 10 on Canadian Indian Reservation, both terrorists die mysteriously.  Good show, Sgt. Preston!  Ten more shot in Ohio by D. T.’s.

 

Politics

3%

450

9/3/22

 +0.2%

9/17/22

466.45

467.38

Barack Obama returns to White House for portrait unveiling that Trump denied – also wins Emmy for narration of a nature film.  Trump’s pet judge grants him his Special Master, provoking his rambling rant on bird cemeteries.  Who will it be now?  Rudy?  Ozzie?  Batman?   BoJo gives his own rambling speech, then just fades away to the strains of Steam.  SC candidate proposes 75 year old age cap for politicians. 

 

Economics

3%

450

9/3/22

 +0.1%

9/17/22

437.95

438.39

Travel up 10% on plague lessening and gas prices dropping.  Dolly launches Doggie Parton animal apparel line.  CFO of Bed, Bath & Bankrupt “falls” from 18th floor window.  UPS to hire 100K seasonal workers.

 

Crime

1%

150

9/3/22

   -0.7%

9/17/22

287.91

285.89

Bad week for Memphis: affluent white jogger kidnap-murdered by ex con on early release after previous killing, then 4 more slain by shooter who videos his “exploits”.  Bad week for Uvalde with gang shootout.  Bad week for Press - politician stabs investigative reporter who investigated him to death in Vegas; Putin sentences hostile mediot to 22 years for “treason”.  Two deputies killed by man who mistakenly thought they were coming for him.  Tupelo man steals plane, flies around threatening to crash into WalMart then gives up and does the Jailhouse Rock.  S.C. coach accused of hanky panky with cheerleaders.

 

 

ACTS of GOD

(6%)

 

 

 

Environment/Weather

3%

450

9/3/22

    +0.2%

9/17/22

439.39

440.27

Western “Mosquito” is newest wildfire as towns of Weed, NoCal and Hemet, SoCal evacuated and exterminated while temps hit 114° in Fresno.  The rain goes to Midwest and Northeast floods.  But relief may be in sight... pundits are divided over whether King Charles III will continue his war on climate change.

 

Disasters

3%

450

9/3/22

  -0.4%

9/17/22

442.71

440.94

SoCal fires also strike Anaheim, menacing Disneyland.  6.8 EQ in Szechuan, China kills 65.  Floods sweep migrants down the Rio Grande; 8 die, dozens missing.  “Doomsday” glacier the size of Florida said to be “disintegrating”.  Man survives 11 days floating on a freezer in shark-infested waters.

 

LIFESTYLE/JUSTICE INDEX

(15%)

 

 

Science, Tech, Educ.

4%

600

9/3/22

  -0.3%

9/17/22

618.52

616.66

U.N. calls weaponization of Zappo Nuke Plant “dangerous.”  Artemis flops again - launch pushed back to late September or October... or later, NASA’s Bill Nelson says at least it didn’t blow up on the pad.

 

Equality (econ/social)

4%

600

9/3/22

-0.1%

9/17/22

591.01

590.42

Tx migrant kickout buses to Chicago, unintended consequence find illegals (who survive flood crossing – above) coming over for the free rides.

 

Health

4%

600

9/3/22

-0.1%

9/17/22

487.45

486.96

NYC public transit mask mandate lifted.  Doctors denounce the small magnets kids eat and die from.  St. James salmon and Wendy’s lettuce recalled for metal shavings in the former and... yes... salmonella in the greens.

 

Freedom and Justice

3%

450

9/3/22

-0.2%

9/17/22

451.29

450.39

Steve Bannon turns himself in for defrauding MAGAnauts.  All in all, his were just imaginary bricks in the Wall.  Church police fight back as a Florida cop arrested in prostitution sting while the FBI grants Most Wanted status to... a porn site operator.  Credit Karma accused of fraud, Juul pays settlement – promises not to advertise to kids younger than 35 (who can’t run for Pres.).

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS and TRANSIENT INDEX

 

 

(7%)

 

 

 

Cultural incidents

3%

450

9/3/22

+0.1%

9/17/22

465.15

465.62

Dancing dancers revealed... no Rudy, no Spicer... most notorious include Charlie’s Cheryl Ladd, housewife  Teresa Giudice, a mom and daughter TikTokTeam, a drag queen and lots more actors.   Ozzie performs at NFL opening halftime but not shown on TV in favor of commentators talking about themselves.  RIP: CNN anchor Bernard Shaw, horror writer Peter Straub and, of course, QE2.

 

Misc. incidents

4%

450

9/3/22

+0.1%

9/17/22

460.98

461.44

Struggling movie theaters offer $3 ticket day; many find the weak fall films not worth even that.  Experts say playing board games like CandyLand and Monopoly will prevent juvenile delinquency.  Maybe not “Risk” - Mar-a-Lago files said to include foreign nuclear spy data.  Boy finds giant worm. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Don Jones Index for the week of September 3rd through September 9th, 2022 was DOWN 4.25 points

 

The Don Jones Index is sponsored by the Coalition for a New Consensus: retired Congressman and Independent Presidential candidate Jack “Catfish” Parnell, Chairman; Brian Doohan, Administrator.  The CNC denies, emphatically, allegations that the organization, as well as any of its officers (including former Congressman Parnell, environmentalist/America-Firster Austin Tillerman and cosmetics CEO Rayna Finch) and references to Parnell’s works, “Entropy and Renaissance” and “The Coming Kill-Off” are fictitious or, at best, mere pawns in the web-serial “Black Helicopters” – and promise swift, effective legal action against parties promulgating this and/or other such slanders.

Comments, complaints, donations (especially SUPERPAC donations) always welcome at feedme@generisis.com or: speak@donjonesindex.com.

 

 

ATTACHMENT ONE – from the White House

 

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BIDEN CELEBRATING LABOR DAY AND THE DIGNITY OF AMERICAN WORKERS

SEPTEMBER 05, 2022 1:37 P.M. CDT   Henry Maier Festival Park   Milwaukee, Wisconsin

 

TRANSCRIPT

 

SEPTEMBER 05, 2022SPEECHES AND REMARKS

Henry Maier Festival Park
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

1:37 P.M. CDT
 
THE PRESIDENT:   Hello, Milwaukee!  (Applause.)  My name is Joe Biden.  I am Jill Biden’s husband.  (Applause.)  And I want to start by saying: Any child under 12 years of age deserves a little extra ice cream or something for doing this.  (Laughter.)  This has got to be the most boring thing in the world for you, honey.  (Laughter.)  But we’re going to work something out for you, I promise.
 
Folks, if you have seat, don’t hesitate to take them.
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you, Uncle Joe!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you, man.  (Applause.) 
 
Well, you know, I think this is getting to be a pretty good — a good year for a Labor Day.  (Applause.) 
 
Eduardo, thank you for that introduction.  It’s great to be with Governor Evers, Representative Gwen Moore.  Where’s Gwen?  There you go, Gwen. I love you, kid.  (Applause.)  You’ve been there every step of the way when I’ve needed help as President.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)
 
And Mayor Johnson.  Where is Mayor — where is the mayor?  There you go.  You’ve got those two beautiful girls and a son.  I tell you what, you got to tell your girls you got to be patient with we dads.  We’re hard to raise.  We’re hard to raise.  (Laughter.)
 
And — and I — where is the county executive?  Stand up big guy?  I think these guys spend — I think these two guys spend all their time in the gymnasium.  They look like they’re in too good a shape.  (Applause.)
 
And I want to thank Tammy — she couldn’t be here today — who’s a champion of working people and always there.  (Applause.)
 
You know, and the same goes to Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, who couldn’t be here, but — (applause) — he’s going be your next United States senator.   (Applause.)  Oh, he is. 
 
And I want to thank Liz Shuler for her fearless leadership at the AFL-CIO. 
 
And thanks to Pam for your leadership of the AFL-CIO here in Milwaukee.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)  Where is she?  Back there.  Okay, there you are, Pam.  I was — okay.  I wonder where everyone is sitting. 
 
And how about actually having a union guy as the Secretary of Labor?   (Applause.)  I’ll tell you what, if you’re going to be in a foxhole, you want Marty in there with you.  Now, you may have trouble understanding when he starts talking about car barns — (said in Boston accent) — and (inaudible) garages and talks — (laughter) — he talks kind of funny, but he knows what he’s talking about. 
 
I promised to be the most pro-union President in American history, and Marty (Walsh, SecLabor) is keeping me to make that promise.  (Applause.)
 
And by the way, the reason for that, I’ll — and I’ve — I’ve had this conversation with the Business Roundtable and all the major chambers of commerce — is not just — just that I think that it’s important that people get a shot.  But, look the reason why — the reason why businesses should be hiring labor folks is simple: You have — you’re the single-greatest technicians in the world.  You’re the best laborers in the world.  You build the best product.
 
And no, no, I’m not just joking.  I’m not just saying that.  But people forget — a lot of the trades — they forget — you go to four, five years of school — your apprenticeship.  It’s like going back to college.  It’s not like you, all of a sudden, just step — step in.  You build a better product, it lasts longer, and it’s cheaper for the business, and it’s better for the country.  (Applause.)
 
Look — folks, Labor Day is a special day in the country for — and here in Milwaukee.  This is one of the biggest Labor Day events in America you all have here.  (Applause.) 
 
And it’s a special day to me as well.  Because the fact of the matter is I wouldn’t be here without unions — unions: electricians, ironworkers, letter carriers, Teamsters, laborers, bricklayers, transit workers, plumbers and pipefitters, steelworkers.  (Applause.)  I wouldn’t be here without cops, firefighters, teacher, nurses.  (Applause.)  I wouldn’t be here without painters, pilots, autoworkers, custodians, carpenters, grocery store workers, steel metal workers, and so many others.  That’s not a joke. That’s not a joke.
 
I got elected when I was 29 years old to the United States Senate in a state that had recently been “right to work.”  You know why?  Because union labor endorsed me and fought for me.  (Applause.) 
 
So bad news for you all is: I’m here because of you. 
 
Look, the middle class — the middle class built America.  Everybody knows that.  But unions built the middle class.  (Applause.)  That’s a fact.  That’s a fact.
 
Look, folks, I believe we’re at an inflection point in American history — I really mean that — that comes around every five or six generations, an inflection where — one of those moments where everything is changing.  Everything is changing. 
 
And we’re going to have to ask whether we want to be a country that moves forward or backwards; we’re going to — we’re going to build a future or we’re going to obsess about the past. 
 
I’ve said many times: We’re the only country in the world that’s come out of every crisis we ever faced stronger than we went in it.  No other nation has done that.  (Applause.) 
 
And we do it because we’ve been a nation of unity, of hope, of optimism — not as a nation of division and violence and hatred that’s being preached by some others. 
 
I want to be very clear up front: Not every Republican is a MAGA Republican.  Not every Republican embraces that extreme ideology.  I know because I’ve been able to work with mainstream Republicans my whole career. 
 
But the extreme MAGA Republicans in Congress have chosen to go backwards — full of anger, violence, hate, and division. 
 
But together, we can and we must choose a different path: forward.  (Applause.)  No, I really mean it.  We have to.  A future of unity, of hope, of optimism.  We’re going to choose to build a better America — a better America.  (Applause.) 
 
There’s no question it’s been a hard few years, but we’ve come a long way. 
 
Today, COVID no longer controls our lives.  More Americans are working than at any time in all of American history. 
 
Last year, more people applied to start small businesses than any year in history.  But it didn’t just happen.   We never gave up.  We never gave in.  And we are delivering for working- and middle-class Americans now — now.  (Applause.)
 
Nearly 10 million new jobs — more jobs than have ever been created at this point in any presidency in history.  Wages are up.  Unemployment remains near a 50-year low.  And the big reason for all this is the American Rescue Plan that I signed into law shortly after taking office — (applause) — with the help of your Democratic members of Congress.  That’s how we got it done.  Not one, single Republican vote.
 
And the plan took America from economic crisis to economic recovery.  And here in Wisconsin, your governor and your mayor of Milwaukee used that money like it’s supposed to be used: keeping city workers on the job in the face of rising costs, keeping streets safe by fixing streetlights, training 130 new firefighters, helping hire close to 200 more police officers. 
 
And not a single Republican voted for that — not one, single one.  Every single Republican in Congress in this state voted against that funding.
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo
 
THE PRESIDENT:  So, let me remind you — no, I really mean it.  Let me remind you what else was in that American Rescue Plan. 
 
A thing called the Butch Lewis Act.  (Applause.)  Now, look, for too long, most Americans didn’t know what that means.  Those of you who have been driving trucks from factories to stores; bagging our groceries; building our buildings, bridges, roads, so much more.   And with each paycheck you earn, the employers put that money into pension plan. 
 
But some companies didn’t set aside enough money to pay for those plans.  And as a result, hundreds of pensions — 2 to 3 million workers and retirees — were going insolvent.  Millions of retirees were at risk of losing their retirement security through no fault of your own. 
 
So, with the American Rescue Plan, we passed the Butch Lewis Act to protect pensions all of you worked so damn hard for — (applause) — pensions you sacrificed for.  In retirement, it’d be a little like losing your Social Security and your Medicare. 
 
It’s one of the most significant achievements union workers and retirees — for union workers and retirees in over 50 years.  And I’ll say it again: Not a single Republican congressman voted to protect your pensions — not one.
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo
 
THE PRESIDENT:  And by the way, I know a lot of them wanted to vote for it, but they’re afraid of losing primaries in this new Republican Party.
 
We also passed a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s roads, highways, bridges, railroads, ports, water systems, high-speed Internet.
 
Folks, your governor has already repaired over 5,000 miles [of roads], 1,500 bridges here in Wisconsin alone.  Just a start.  (Applause.)
 
We will, when this is over, have the best infrastructure — not a joke — in the entire world.  The single-best in the world.  (Applause.)
 
And that means jobs.  No, that means jobs.  That means we continue to lead the world.  You can’t do it without the best ports.  You can’t do it without the best airports.  You can’t do it — I’m not going to go on, but the point is: You can’t do it.
 
Right here in Milwaukee, it’s estimated 40 percent of the homes still have lead service water — lead pipes for their water.  Because of the Infrastructure Law, the city is receiving millions of dollars to replace lead pipes to make sure families have safe drinking water.  (Applause.)  Your child shouldn’t have to worry about turning on the faucet or going to school, going to the water fountain and worrying about any kind of lead in the water.
 
Look, it’s the biggest investment in America since President Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway Act.  And we made sure that the Infrastructure Law included significant labor protections.  For example, the majority of the funds in the law are subject to Davis-Bacon.  (Applause.) 
 
And it’s not just because I wanted to help unions.  It’s simple: You’re the best in the world.  That’s not hyperbole.  No, you really — it’s not a joke.   You really, genuinely are.
 
You don’t just decide you want to be a pipefitter or an electrician.  It takes you four to five years of hard work — the apprenticeships.  It’s like going to college.  You’re the best-trained workers in the world, and you deserved to be treated that way.  (Applause.) 
 
And by the way, those of you who know me, no one ever doubts I mean what I say.  The problem is, I sometimes say all that mean.  (Laughter.)  I’ve made the same comments to the Business Rountable, to the Chamber of Commerce.  They understand it.  They don’t want to pay it; they understand it, though.  Because it’s true.
 
I also signed the CHIPS and Science Act, a groundbreaking law.  We’ll once again manufacture semiconductor chips that power everyday — everything — our smartphones, dishwashers, automobiles, national security stuff — right here in America. 
 
Guess what?  We invented it here.  We invented it here in America.  (Applause.)
 
And by the way, the reason why last time out, last year, inflation was so high — you know the biggest reason?  Cost of automobiles.  You know why they cost so much?  They didn’t have the computer chips to make the automobiles.
 
Folks, here in Wisconsin, Senator Baldwin made clear that you’re ready to take advantage of this law with world-class universities and a workforce that knows how to manufacture a product here in Wisconsin.  This law is going to create tens of thousands of jobs in America, bringing billions of dollars of investment here in America — well over $100 billion in investments in America, revitalizing American manufacturing.  (Applause.)
 
Where is written — where is it written that says America can’t lead the world in manufacturing?  Where does it say that?  We’ve exported too damn much.
 
In fact, next week, I’m going to Ohio for the groundbreaking of a multi-billion-dollar semiconductor manufacturing plant.  (Applause.)  The company is Intel.  It’s one of the largest investments of its kind ever.  They’re putting $20 billion in as a start. 
 
It’s going to create thousands of jobs — thousands — 7,000 construction jobs just building the facilities; 5,000 permanent jobs for blue-collar workers who will make $125,000 a year in those jobs.  (Applause.) 
 
And by the way, if you take a look, manufacturers all over the world are coming to the United States — (applause) — from Korea, from Japan, from all over the world. 

Why?  You know why the head of an outfit out of Korea told me they’re coming here?  Because we have the safest environment and the best workers in the world.  (Applause.)  That’s a fact.  We do.  I’m not just saying this.  This is real.  (Applause.)

Look, folks, it means we’re going to build the future in America with American workers in American factories using American-made products.  (Applause.)
 
Look, it’s something most people don’t know, but you guys out there in this audience know: 15 percent of our military become — veterans become union workers when they leave the military.  Fifteen percent.  (Applause.) 

How many veterans out there?  Holler out.  (Applause.)  You got it. 

In my State of the Union Address, I put forward what I call a Unity Agenda that — including taking care of our veterans. 

Look, we have a lot of responsibilities but only one sacred responsibility — not a joke, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart and I’ve said it from the first day I entered politics: We have an obligation to equip those we send into harm’s way and care for them and their families when they come home — (applause) — both their families — especially our veterans who’ve been exposed to toxic burn pits, like my son.

Those pits the size of football fields — 8, 9, 10 feet deep in Afghanistan and Iraq — I was in and out of those countries over 35 times in the middle of these wars as Vice President — that incinerate wastes of war — tires, poisons, chemicals, jet fuel, so much more. 
 
A lot of people, like my son, had their hooch just probably 300, 500 yards from those pits.  You could smell it.  You could inhale it.  Well, guess what?  These poisonous fumes just came — people came home with headaches, numbness, dizziness, cancer. 
 
I just signed — we call it the PACT Act — to take care of these veterans — (applause) — who need medical assistance and to provide for their families when they are gone.  (Applause.) 
 
For God’s sake, it’s the least we can do.  It’s the least we —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you, Joe!

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, I love you too, kiddo.  I tell ya

Look, like I said, I believe we have a lot of obligations — we have a lot of obligations, but only one sacred obligation, and that’s to take care of those vets we send overseas and when they come home.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT:  No, I know — I — but I really mean it.  And as I said, I just signed into law a historic Inflation Reduction Act.  (Applause.) 
 
It wasn’t easy to take big drug companies, but we did.  I’ve been fighting them since I got in Congress 180 years ago.  (Laughter.)

You know, we pay more for our prescription drugs in the United States of America than any major country in the world — here in the United States.  Okay?  There’s no reason for it. 

For the last several decades, many of us have been trying to fix the problem.  But for decades, Big Pharma tried to block giving lower drug prices for those on Medicare or anywhere else. 
 
For decades, Big Pharma won — year in, year out — because they own chunks of the Congress, because they had help, like your senior senator, Ron Johnson, who said —

AUDIENCE:  Booo

THE PRESIDENT:  No, I — I want to say what he said.  He said he opposed lowering drug costs because it would result in “punishing the pharmaceutical industry.”

AUDIENCE:  Booo

THE PRESIDENT:  Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.  I mean, come on, man.  (Applause.)

Not this year.  We beat Pharma this year.  We beat Pharma this year, and it mattered.  We’re going to change people’s lives.  (Applause.)  We finally beat Pharma. 

Now Medicare will have the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.  We can guarantee no senior — no senior will have to pay more than $2,000 out of pocket for their drugs for the entire year, no matter whether their bill is $50,000.  No more than $2,000.  Period.  (Applause.) 
 
And if you’re on Medicare and you have diabetes, your cost for insulin will be capped at $35.  (Applause.)  
 
And by the way, there’s a reason for that.  You know how much it costs for them to make and package the insulin for diabetes?  Ten bucks.  Ten.

Any of you have to — you need that insulin or your children need it.  You know what it costs.  It costs you somewhere between 650 and 1,000 bucks a month.  It’s outrageous.

Well, guess what?  We also had, in this bill of mine — we also had a provision that affected people who weren’t on Medicare, but because of the leadership of your senior senator and others, it got defeated.  But I’m coming back and getting it.  (Applause.)

Imagine — this about this.  Imagine being a mom or a dad — I mean this from the bottom of my heart.  Imagine being a mom or a dad with a kid with Type 2 diabetes, knowing you need that insulin and you don’t have the insurance, you can’t pay for it.  I’m not joking.  Think about it.  Think about how it would rip your heart it.

It’s wrong.  It’s simply wrong.  And we’re going to end it.  It costs 10 bucks, and you can make 35 if you want.  That’s it.  (Applause.)
 
For decades, the biggest corporations — and by the way, I know corporations; I come from the corporate state of the world.  (Laughter.)  More corporations are incorporated in Delaware than every other nation — every other state in the country combined.  Okay?  So I could write a doctrine on corporations.  (Laughter.)  So, it’s not like I’m anti-corporation generically.  But I do think everybody should pay their fair share.  (Applause.) 
 
And, by the way — and, by the way, look, for decades, the biggest corporations and the wealthiest Americans have fought to block a fair tax code.  Republicans passed a $2 trillion tax cut mainly benefiting the wealthiest corporations under the Trump administration.  Put us —
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo
 
THE PRESIDENT:  By the way, it increased the debt by $2 trillion. 
 
Well, guess what?  In 2000, 55 of those corporations earned a $40 billion in profit.  They didn’t pay a single solitary penny in taxes.
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo
 
THE PRESIDENT:  And the wealthiest Americans — of the 700-plus billionaires in America — you know what their average tax rate is — the federal tax?  Eight percent.  They pay more taxes than any one of you — less — fewer taxes than any of you pay. 
 
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  It’s not right!
 
THE PRESIDENT:  It’s not right.  No, no, I mean, this is — I — it’s just outrageous. 
 
Well, guess what?  Guess what?  I wasn’t able to take care — anyway. 
 
If you’re a cop, a teacher, a firefighter, a steelworker, a miner, you pay double that federal tax.  It’s just wrong. 
 
But this year, the American people won.  Now, big corporations have to pay at least the minimum tax of 15 percent — at least.  (Applause.)
 
The days of billion-dollar companies paying zero, they are over in America.  (Applause.)  And they know they can afford it.
 
And while we’re doing this, we’re actually reducing the federal deficit.  You know how they talk about responsible de- — they — the last guy left me with a giant deficit.  Well, guess what?  In my first year I reduced the deficit by $350 billion.  (Applause.)
 
And you know how much — you know how much I’m reducing the deficit this year?  One trillion, five hundred thousand reduction of the deficit.  (Applause.)
 
And, by the way, just by dealing with allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, it means Medicare doesn’t have to pay out that many tax dollars to buy them.  That alone is reduce — going to reduce, over time, $300 billion in the deficit. 
 
You would think that if Republicans really cared about reducing inflation, they’d vote for the Inflation Reduction Act.  But every single Republican in House and Senate voted against it.  Every single Republican in the House and Senate. 
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Now, I admit some of them voted against it.  They thought it made sense, but they weren’t — they couldn’t let Biden, quote, “have a victory.”  It’s not my victory.  It’s American people’s victory.  (Applause.)
 
In spite of the fact that while doing all this we lowered the deficit by a trillion five this year here, here in America, every single Republican voted against lowering prescription drug prices, against lowering healthcare costs, against protecting your pensions, against lower energy costs, against creating good-paying jobs, against a fairer tax system — every single one in the House and Senate.  Every one.
 
And one thing more: When Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Labor Re- — Labor Relations Act — when it passed in the ‘30s — he didn’t say it was okay to be a union.  He said — and in fact, it says we should “encourage unions” — “encourage.”  (Applause.) 
 
Well, I’m encouraging unions.  (Applause.)  That’s what I’ve been doing from day one.
 
It includes for public service sector workers in Wisconsin as well. 
 
Today, support for unions in this country is higher than it’s been in nearly 60 years.  Think about this.  You guys know the numbers.  Unions are more — have more support today in America in public opinion than any time in 60 years.  The key — it’s a key way to building the economy, to grow us from the bottom up and the middle out.  I’m so sick and tired of trickle-down economics.  (Applause.)
 
I come from a family where my dad worked hard.  He worked like hell.  We lived a decent, middle-class life.  We lived in a three-bedroom, split level home in a development that was — there — as we were — the area was growing, with four kids and a grandpop. 
 
I sometimes wonder — anyway, I wonder — it was great for us, but those walls are thin.  (Laughter.)
 
But all kidding aside, we did fine.  No complaints.  We did fine. 
 
But here’s the point: The biggest contrast from what MAGA Republicans — the extreme right, the — the “Trumpies” — they want to go to — these MAGA Republicans in Congress are coming for your Social Security as well. 
 
Now, are you — by the way, as I said, you might think I’m making this — some of this stuff up it’s so outrageous. 
 
But here’s the deal, guys: The Republicans — read the Republican campaign plan, the Senate campaign they put out this year.  Go online and read it.  Senator Rick Scott of Florida heads that campaign committee.
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo
 
THE PRESIDENT:  It’s all in black and white.  I’m not making it up.  You can go online and read it. 
 
They want to require Congress to vote on the future of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid every five years to decide whether they continue. 
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo
 
THE PRESIDENT:  No, no, every five years, they get to vote to change, to cut, to reduce, or entirely eliminate Social Security and other things.  How’s that make us feel knowing you guy —
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo
 
THE PRESIDENT:  And then along — you know, remember that song, “Along Comes Jones”?  And then along comes Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo
 
THE PRESIDENT:  He — he’s arguing that five years is too long to wait to savage these programs people depend on.  He wants to put Social Security and Medicare literally on that chopping block every single year, treated like any other appropriation. 
 
Let me remind you: You paid for your Social Security and Medicare.  (Applause.)  It’s taken out of your paycheck from the time you’re 18 years old.  (Applause.) 

The same guy who said — he’s the same guy who said if the Republicans get control of the Congress, they’re coming after the Affordable Care Act again, denying health insurance to anyone with a preexisting condition.  That’s the only reason they have — they’re able to get it.

Only reason they get — if they have a preexisting condition, the only way they can insurance is because of the Affordable Care Act.  That’s not a joke.

This guy never stops.  (Laughter.)  But guess what?  I ain’t stopping either.  (Applause.)

Folks, you and I, we offer a starkly different vision for this country — a vision of a fairer, more decent America.  One where everybody has a fair share, where every American is treated with — as my dad would say — with dignity.  The economy that works for work, not wealth.
 
Now let’s me close with this: We’re at a serious moment in our nation’s history, and it’s not hyperb- —
 
(A protester disruption can be heard in the audience.)
 
I mean it from the bottom of my heart.  As I said last week, we remain in the battle for the soul of America.

By the way —

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You’re a liar!

THE PRESIDENT:  All right, God love ya.
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Let him go.  Let him go. 
 
AUDIENCE:  Booo
 
THE PRESIDENT:  No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.  Don’t — let him — let him go.  Let him — he’s — look, everybody is entitled to be an idiot.  (Applause.)  No, no.  Everybody is entitled.  (Applause.)  Okay?

Look, extreme MAGA Republicans don’t just threaten our personal rights and our economic security, they embrace political violence.  (Applause.)  Look — no, look, the reason — I’m not talking all Republicans, I’m talking about these extreme MAGA Republicans. 

Think about it.  Think about it.  The definition of democracy is you accept the will of the people when the votes are honestly counted.  (Applause.)  These guys don’t do it.

Name me a democracy in the world where a leader argues to engage in violence.  To this day, MAGA Republicans in Congress defend the mob that stormed the Capitol, and people died later. 

Senator Johnson said it was a — “by and large a peaceful protest.”

AUDIENCE:  Booo

THE PRESIDENT:  Have you seen the videos of what happened on that day, listened to the stories of the members of both parties of Congress and the jeopardy they were put in? 
 
Cops attacked and assaulted.  Speared with flag poles.  Sprayed with mace.  Stomped on, dragged, brutalized.
 
Police lost their lives as a result of that day.  And the MAGA Republicans and your senior senator said it was “a peaceful protest.”

AUDIENCE:  Booo — 
 
THE PRESIDENT:  Folks, you can’t be pro-ex- — you can’t be pro-insurrectionist — I’m being deadly earnest now.  There’s no democracy where you can be pro-insurrection and pro-democracy.  (Applause.)  So, when I say that democracy is at stake, I mean what I’m saying literally. 
 
You can’t say you support law enforcement and call the people who attacked the police on January 6th “patriots”.  (Applause.)  This was an attack on American democracy and all we stand for.

Imagine if you go home this afternoon, turn on the television, and saw several thousand people storming the British Parliament, knocking down the doors, threatening the lives, trying to overthrow the election of the new prime minister, and people dying.  What would you think?  No, I’m being deadly earnest now.  Honest to God, what would you think?  You’d think, “This is not a democracy.”

Well, let me tell you something.  Let me tell you something: That is why, in this moment, those of you in this country — Democrats, Republicans — and mainstream Republicans and independents — we have to be stronger and more determined and more committed to saving American democracy than the MAGA Republicans and that guy walking out the door are [to] destroying democracy — (applause) — because democracy is at stake.
 
We got to remember who we are.  (Applause.)  We’re the United States of America.  There is nothing — nothing we can’t do if we do it together.  (Applause.)
 
God bless you all.  And may God protect our troops.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)

2:10 P.M. CDT

 

ATTACHMENT TWO From CNN

 

WORKERS’ WAGES CONTINUE TO CLIMB, BUT NOT AS FAST AS INFLATION

 

By Tami Luhby, CNN  Updated 12:30 PM EDT, Fri July 29, 2022

 

Employers continued hiking workers’ pay at a brisker-than-expected pace, but the increases still weren’t enough to compensate for the even faster rise in inflation.

Wages and salaries for civilian workers increased 1.4% in the second quarter and 5.3% over the year ending in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Cost Index, released Friday. Both measures show swifter growth than in the first quarter.

The 12-month jump was the highest since the spring of 1983, though the quarterly change did not surpass the 1.5% increase in the fall of 2021.

However, the picture is not as rosy once inflation is taken into account. Wages and salaries declined 3.5% over the past year, after adjusting for rising prices.

That’s just a touch better than the 3.6% drop for the year ending in March, which was the largest decrease since the bureau began keeping inflation-adjusted records in 2001.

The data shows that people are really falling behind, said Jason Furman, an economics professor at Harvard University and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Obama administration.

“And they’re falling behind, not because wage growth is slowing, but because price growth is so high,” Furman said. “And that’s a worrisome sign for the future.”

The super-tight labor market during the Covid-19 pandemic has forced employers to increase their compensation to fill open positions and hold on to their staff, though the raises aren’t keeping up with the cost of living.

This is adding to concerns about the duration and pervasiveness of inflation.

The Employment Cost Index report is a favorite of the Federal Reserve, which is closely monitoring the extent to which skyrocketing inflation is boosting wages to help it determine how much to hike interest rates. The US central bank on Wednesday approved its second-straight three-quarters of a percentage point rate hike as it tries to tamp down rising prices.

In a press conference Wednesday, Fed chair Jerome Powell called the index “important” because of how it accounts for the composition of the labor market.

The data tracks changes in employers’ labor costs for wages and salaries, along with health, retirement and other benefits. The index is not subject to the same distortions as other measures, such as average hourly earnings, because it keeps the composition of the workforce constant.

Wage growth won’t abate until the labor market turns and gets weaker, said Robert Fry, chief economist at his eponymous firm. Employers have continued adding jobs even as the economy contracted in the second quarter.

“You need a higher unemployment rate and more slack there to get wage increases back down,” said Fry, who expects to see price growth start to slow before pay hikes do.  Good! - DJI

Cost of benefits cools

Overall, the growth in employers’ compensation costs moderated slightly in the second quarter, coming in at 1.3%, before accounting for inflation. That compares to 1.4% in the first quarter but was still slightly higher growth than economists expected.

However, over the course of the year ending in June, total compensation costs jumped 5.1%, a quicker pace than the 4.5% increase for the year ending in March.

The growth in benefits costs, which takes into account the amount paid for retirement, health and other benefits, dipped to 1.2% for the spring, compared to 1.8% in the prior quarter.

Benefits costs increased 4.8% over the most recent 12 months, compared to 4.1% over the year ending in March.

Looking ahead

The hotter-than-projected wage data, as well as a new 40-year high in another key inflation measure released on Friday, means that the Federal Reserve will most likely continue raising interest rates this year.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, which measures the change in the prices of goods and services purchased by consumers, rose by 6.8% in June as compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

“There was nothing in today’s reports that’s going to cause the Fed to question whether they should keep tightening,” Fry said. “I’d lean towards 75 basis points the next time too, until we see some kind of break on inflation, both wages and prices.”

 

 

ATTACHMENTS from 9/3/22

 

ATTACHMENT ONE – from the New York Times

 

THE RISE OF THE WORKER PRODUCTIVITY SCORE

Across industries and incomes, more employees are being tracked, recorded and ranked. What is gained, companies say, is efficiency and accountability. What is lost?

By Jodi Kantor and Arya Sundaram
Produced by Aliza Aufrichtig and Rumsey Taylor 
Aug. 14, 2022

 

A FEW YEARS AGO, Carol Kraemer, a longtime finance executive, took a new job. Her title, senior vice president, was impressive. The compensation was excellent: $200 an hour.

But her first paychecks seemed low. Her new employer, which used extensive monitoring software on its all-remote workers, paid them only for the minutes when the system detected active work. Worse, Ms. Kraemer noticed that the software did not come close to capturing her labor. Offline work — doing math problems on paper, reading printouts, thinking — didn’t register and required approval as “manual time.” In managing the organization’s finances, Ms. Kraemer oversaw more than a dozen people, but mentoring them didn’t always leave a digital impression. If she forgot to turn on her time tracker, she had to appeal to be paid at all.

“You’re supposed to be a trusted member of your team, but there was never any trust that you were working for the team,” she said.

Since the dawn of modern offices, workers have orchestrated their actions by watching the clock. Now, more and more, the clock is watching them.

IN LOWER-PAYING JOBS, the monitoring is already ubiquitous: not just at Amazon, where the second-by-second measurements became notorious, but also for Kroger cashiers, UPS drivers and millions of others. Eight of the 10 largest private U.S. employers track the productivity metrics of individual workers, many in real time, according to an examination by The New York Times.

Now digital productivity monitoring is also spreading among white-collar jobs and roles that require graduate degrees. Many employees, whether working remotely or in person, are subject to trackers, scores, “idle” buttons, or just quiet, constantly accumulating records. Pauses can lead to penalties, from lost pay to lost jobs.

Some radiologists see scoreboards showing their “inactivity” time and how their productivity stacks up against their colleagues’. At companies including J.P. Morgan, tracking how employees spend their days, from making phone calls to composing emails, has become routine practice. In Britain, Barclays Bank scrapped prodding messages to workers, like “Not enough time in the Zone yesterday,” after they caused an uproar. At UnitedHealth Group, low keyboard activity can affect compensation and sap bonuses. Public servants are tracked, too: In June, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority told engineers and other employees they could work remotely one day a week if they agreed to full-time productivity monitoring.

Architects, academic administrators, doctors, nursing home workers and lawyers described growing electronic surveillance over every minute of their workday. They echoed complaints that employees in many lower-paid positions have voiced for years: that their jobs are relentless, that they don’t have control — and in some cases, that they don’t even have enough time to use the bathroom. In interviews and in hundreds of written submissions to The Times, white-collar workers described being tracked as “demoralizing,” “humiliating” and “toxic.” Micromanagement is becoming standard, they said.

But the most urgent complaint, spanning industries and incomes, is that the working world’s new clocks are just wrong: inept at capturing offline activity, unreliable at assessing hard-to-quantify tasks and prone to undermining the work itself.

UnitedHealth social workers were marked idle for lack of keyboard activity while counseling patients in drug treatment facilities, according to a former supervisor. Grocery cashiers said the pressure to quickly scan items degraded customer service, making it harder to be patient with elderly shoppers who move slowly. Ms. Kraemer, the executive, said she sometimes resorted to doing “busywork that is mindless” to accumulate clicks.

“We’re in this era of measurement but we don’t know what we should be measuring,” said Ryan Fuller, former vice president for workplace intelligence at Microsoft.

The metrics are even applied to spiritual care for the dying. The Rev. Margo Richardson of Minneapolis became a hospice chaplain to help patients wrestle with deep, searching questions. “This is the big test for everyone: How am I going to face my own death?” she said.

ALLINA HEALTHThe Rev. Margo RichardsonHospice chaplainEach morning, Ms. Richardson and her colleagues had to project how many “productivity points” they would accumulate during the day’s work. But death defied planning.Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times

But two years ago, her employer started requiring chaplains to accrue more of what it called “productivity points.” A visit to the dying: as little as one point. Participating in a funeral: one and three-quarters points. A phone call to grieving relatives: one-quarter point.

As these practices have spread, so has resistance to what labor advocates call one of the most significant expansions of employer power in generations. TikTok videos offer tips on outsmarting the systems, including with a “mouse jiggler,” a device that creates the appearance of activity. (One popular model is called Liberty.) Some of the most closely monitored employees in the country have become some of the most restive — warehouse workers attempting to unionize, truckers forming protest convoys.

But many employers, along with makers of the tracking technology, say that even if the details need refining, the practice has become valuable — and perhaps inevitable.

Tracking, they say, allows them to manage with newfound clarity, fairness and insight. Derelict workers can be rooted out. Industrious ones can be rewarded. “It’s a way to really just focus on the results,” rather than impressions, said Marisa Goldenberg, who ran a division of the company Ms. Kraemer joined, and said she used the tools in moderation.

Some employers are making a trade: “If we’re going to give up on bringing people back to the office, we’re not going to give up on managing productivity,” said Paul Wartenberg, who installs monitoring systems for clients including accounting firms and hospitals.

But in-person workplaces have embraced the tools as well. Tommy Weir, whose company, Enaible, provides group productivity scores to Fortune 500 companies, aims to eventually use individual scores to calibrate pay. “The real question,” he said, “is which companies are going to use it and when, and which companies are going to become irrelevant?”

MS. KRAEMER, the finance executive, thought she had seen it all. Years after working at Enron, the energy giant turned business blowup, she and former colleagues still held reunions to commemorate what they had been through. But she had never encountered anything like the practices of ESW Capital, a Texas-based group of business software companies.

She and her co-workers could turn off their trackers and take breaks anytime, as long as they hit 40 hours a week, which the company logged in 10-minute chunks. During each of those intervals, at some moment they could never anticipate, cameras snapped shots of their faces and screens, creating timecards to verify whether they were working. Some bosses allowed a few “bad” timecards — showing interruptions, or no digital activity — according to interviews with two dozen current and former employees. Beyond that, any snapshot in which they had paused or momentarily stepped away could cost them 10 minutes of pay. Sometimes those cards were rejected; sometimes the workers, knowing the rules, didn’t submit them at all.

While the tracker was on, “you couldn’t choose those bathroom or coffee moments — you just had to wing it,” she said.

Matthew Phillp lost a freelance job after refusing to install Time Doctor, software that would have taken screenshots of his work. He said he found it intrusive — and potentially misleading, since he often works on paper.Sarah Blesener for The New York Times

Though Ms. Kraemer didn’t know it, that software had been created with a sense of promise about the future of the workplace.

It was part of a bold plan for streamlining and “redefining the way people work,” as one of the creators put it. Office settings were choked with unnecessary interruptions, they believed, and constrained by geography from hiring the best talent worldwide. Smartphones and their constant pings were a growing threat to concentration.

If technology could optimize productivity, everyone would benefit, the executives said. The company would accomplish more. Workers would perform better, then log off to live their lives.

To carry out this vision, ESW deployed a firm called Crossover, founded in 2014, to hire and manage workers. Wages were high, and benefits sparse: Nearly everyone would be contractors, using their own computers. The executives adapted an existing tracker into WorkSmart, the software that placed Ms. Kraemer and others under a dome of electronic supervision.

The system drew adherents, because the productivity gains were remarkable. Goofing off was excised. In interviews, former supervisors described having newfound powers of near X-ray vision into what employees were doing other than working: watching porn, playing video games, using bots to mimic typing, two-timing Crossover by programming for other businesses, and subcontracting their assignments out to lower-paid workers.

Other employees, they said, became more efficient. “Once you see those metrics, those insights, something changes: You realize how much you waste doing nothing, or just multitasking and not accomplishing stuff,” said Federico Mazzoli, a co-creator of WorkSmart. Some overseas workers said the intrusions were worth the U.S. salaries that enabled them to buy homes or start businesses.

But Ms. Kraemer, like many of her colleagues, found that WorkSmart upended ideas she had taken for granted: that she would have more freedom in her home than at an office; that her M.B.A. and experience had earned her more say over her time.

Workdays grew longer for her and others, in part because offline work didn’t count, but also because it was nearly impossible to work online with unwavering focus. Taking time to mull or bantering with colleagues turned out to be necessary to both doing her job and getting through the day, even if those moments went unpaid.

“You have to be in front of your computer, in work mode, 55 or 60 hours just to get those 40 hours counted and paid for,” Ms. Kraemer said. Though WorkSmart allowed payment requests for offline work, employees said managers did not always encourage them. (Executives from ESW and Crossover did not  to repeated requests for comment including written questions about whether any of these practices have since been updated. But Crossover defends its practices on its website, saying that its “‘Fitbit’ of productivity” spurs motivation, accountability and “remote freedoms.”)

Two years after helping to build WorkSmart, Mr. Mazzoli started using it. He became awash in anxiety and doubtful about its accuracy. “Some days you were just moving the cursor around just for the sake of it,” he said. The tool was powerful but dangerous, he concluded. (He left the company a year later.)

Crossover’s reputation as an employer began to slide, with online reviews that warned against working there. The company heard so many complaints about the camera trained on each worker that they removed it as a default feature, according to Mr. Mazzoli. Ms. Kraemer left ESW and sued Crossover for unpaid wages for work that its system didn’t track. The case was settled for an amount she is barred from disclosing.

But WorkSmart’s creators had adopted an idea that was going mainstream. Human resources, once reliant on more subjective assessments, was becoming more of an analytics business. Employers had always sought to get the most out of employees, and some fields had long recorded billable client hours, but this was different. “The people data revolution, predicted for years, has finally arrived,” proclaimed a 2018 Deloitte report.

Software makers competed to deliver employee ratings, app-activity reports and color-coded charts showing who was doing what. Even software that wasn’t designed for productivity surveillance contributed to it. Microsoft Teams, introduced in 2017 and taken up by hundreds of millions of people, signaled which users were “active” (green dot) or “away” (yellow). Salesforce, the leading marketing, sales and customer service program, logged emails sent and phone calls made to customers. At financial firms, monitoring software set up for compliance reasons also served up insights on how employees spent their time.

Upwork, a freelance marketplace now used by podcast producers, accountants and hundreds of thousands of other skilled workers, offered a time-tracking feature similar to WorkSmart’s that took screenshots during every 10-minute billing window. (This is no coincidence: The tracker that inspired WorkSmart is now part of Upwork.) Freelancers could try to explain screenshots showing moments of inactivity, but as with WorkSmart, some said they submitted only the unblemished ones, in effect forgoing pay for some of their labor.

The arrival of the pandemic, spurring businesses to keep tabs on workers at home, hastened a shift that was already underway. As more employers adopted the tools, more workers d Ms. Kraemer’s experience: The software was warping the foundations of time and trust in their work lives.

In the spring of 2020, Patrick Baratta graduated from the University of Virginia and began working remotely for AlphaBrook, which provides research on government contracting. Soon the company began gauging its workers’ productivity using a program called Monitask, according to Mr. Baratta and several former colleagues.

Once, he said, a manager asked why his score had dropped during a particular 10-minute increment. “Sometimes I have to use the bathroom,” he replied. (Matthew Hastings, AlphaBrook’s founder and chief executive, said the company “would never assess an employee over just 10 minutes of their time.”) In interviews and written submissions to The Times, workers across a variety of jobs — pharmaceutical assistants, insurance underwriters, employees of e-commerce companies — also said productivity pressure had led to problems with bathroom breaks.

Some companies that adopted monitoring tools during the Covid-19 shutdown maintained them even after returning to work in person. CoStar Group, a Washington-based real estate data company where a friend of Mr. Baratta took a job, continued keeping intricate records of how employees spend their time. (One report viewed by The Times had over 20 entries in a single hour of an employee’s day.) CoStar said that those numbers were not used as stand-alone tools and that a better measurement was the monthly rankings of individual employee output displayed on screens in the office.

Larger, more established companies are taking similar steps. UnitedHealth Group has 350,000 employees, a perch high on the Fortune 500 list and annual revenues of hundreds of billions of dollars. It also has strict systems for measuring “idle time” that some employees say are deeply flawed.

Jessica Hornig, a Rhode Island social worker who supervised two dozen other UnitedHealthcare social workers and therapists seeing patients with drug addiction and other serious problems, said their laptops marked them “idle” when they ceased keyboard activity for more than a short while. They were labeled derelict during sensitive conversations with patients and visits to drug treatment facilities.

“This literally killed morale,” Ms. Hornig said. “I found myself really struggling to explain to all my team members, master’s-level clinicians, why we were counting their keystrokes.”

In recent years, she said, the scores have become even more consequential: On performance evaluations, social workers were rated 1 to 5 based on the amount of time they were digitally engaged — numbers that affected compensation. Ms. Hornig said her team spent hours each week piecing together alternate records but had trouble keeping up without compromising core parts of their job.

Other UnitedHealth employees described similar problems. For Linda Eusebi, who works on insurance letters from her home in Garden Grove, Calif., compensation is tied to “idle time.” At the end of the workday when her company-issued computer is shutting down, it sometimes gets stuck in “idle” mode all night, throwing off her numbers. (She said her managers, aware of the problems but unable to fix them, began reminding her and others to jiggle their mice during meetings and training sessions.)

Isaac Sorensen, a spokesman for Optum, a division of UnitedHealth Group, acknowledged that the company monitored employees but declined to say how many, and said it considered several factors in evaluations. “We know there is no single measure to fully assess team productivity or individual performance,” he said.

For frustrated employees, or for companies navigating what to disclose to workers or how to deploy metrics in pay or firing decisions, the law provides little guidance. In many states, employers have “carte blanche in how to implement these technologies to surveil workers,” said Ifeoma Ajunwa, a law professor at the University of North Carolina.

Many of today’s workplace regulations, including the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, were written long before “bottom performer” dashboard displays were conceivable. A New York law that took effect this spring requires employers to disclose the type of information they collect. But efforts to enact a similar rule in California stalled amid opposition from business groups.

“The technology is just growing and improving so quickly,” said Brian Kropp, the chief of research for Gartner’s human resources practice. “It’s moving faster than employees realize it is, and a whole lot faster than government can regulate it.” Investment in new workplace technologies has been soaring, according to Jason Corsello, a venture capitalist, who called “performance management” one of the fastest-growing categories, with an eightfold increase in funding in the last five years.

But the march toward ever-tighter monitoring is also encountering some limits. Some companies have rejected the approach outright, and earlier this year, Amazon quietly eased back on the best-known, and most criticized, productivity metric in the American workplace.

For years, Amazon’s “time off task” policy recorded warehouse workers’ every pause and resulted in the firing of highly praised employees after one bad day. With unionization efforts underway on Staten Island and new California regulations on warehouse metrics, Amazon reformulated its rules. The company still calculates every worker’s “rate,” or pace. But the term “time off task” has been retired, according to Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman, and managers have been directed to look only into “idle” periods longer than 15 minutes. The updated rules, she said, are meant to recognize that employees may need to confer with a colleague or spend a few extra minutes in the restroom — in other words, to better reflect people’s natural behavior and cadences.

IN THE FIRST MONTH after joining the group of hospice chaplains in Minnesota, the Rev. Heather Thonvold was invited to five potlucks. To endure the constant sorrow of the work, the more than a dozen clergy members ministered to one another. Sometimes the cantor in the group played guitar for his mostly Protestant colleagues. There was comfort in regarding their work as a calling, several of them said.

In August 2020, the productivity revolution arrived for them in an email from their employer, a nonprofit called Allina Health.

“The timing is not ideal,” the message said, with the team already strained by the pandemic. But workloads varied too widely, and “the stark reality at this point is we cannot wait any longer.”

Allina was already keeping track of productivity, but now there would be stricter procedures with higher expectations. Every morning the chaplains would  on a spreadsheet the number of “productivity points” they anticipated earning. Every evening, software would calculate whether they had met their goals.

But dying defied planning. Patients broke down, canceled appointments, drew final breaths. This left the clergy scrambling and in a perpetual dilemma. “Do I see the patients who earn the points or do I see the patients who really need to be seen?” as Mx. Thonvold put it.

At the chaplains’ meetings, they d their apprehension. The type of attention and care that had drawn them to this work could impede their point totals, they told their managers. The dying were often lonely, and the difficulty of travel during the pandemic left them more isolated. Some asked questions with no short answers, like “What’s it like to die?” Ms. Richardson said.

“People’s entire life experiences come into play,” she continued. “You get it all: the tears, the anger, the guilt.”

Sometimes the chaplains sacrificed points, risking reprimand or trying to make them up later. But their jobs depended on meeting the standards. So they shifted whom they saw when, the time they spent and the depth of their relationships with the dying, some said. Group settings like nursing homes were rich sources of points. Single patients in homes dotting the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area were not.

“This is going to sound terrible,” Mx. Thonvold said, “but every now and again I would do what I thought of as ‘spiritual care drive-bys’” to rack up points. If a patient was sleeping, “I could just talk to the nurse and say, ‘Are there any concerns?’ It counted as a visit because I laid eyes.”

But last summer, Ms. Richardson and Mx. Thonvold came to the same conclusion: The metrics prevented them from fulfilling their calling. They quit.

Allina’s director of hospice, Lisa Abicht, said in a statement that the company was “extremely proud of the high-quality and compassionate hospice care” its teams provide. Since the productivity changes, she said, employees’ goals and performance were more transparent, workloads were more balanced, and “patient satisfaction scores” and “employee sustainable engagement” scores were up.

The productivity project, she said, had been a success.

 

ATTACHMENT ONE (A) – From the NY Times

Don’t Worry, We’re Not Actually Monitoring Your Productivity

Across the country, companies are using tracking software to monitor their employees. A recent Times investigation simulated how the software works — and how it feels to be watched.

 

By Kate Dwyer

Aug. 19, 2022

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

Scrolling through a recent New York Times interactive article evoked anxiety — panic, even — for some online readers. That’s by design: The article, which explores how many U.S. companies now measure worker productivity with monitoring software, uses a tracking simulation built by Times journalists to mirror the experience for readers. As you scroll through the article (or worse, stop scrolling), pop-ups not-so-gently check in on your reading progress. “We can tell you’re idling,” one notification says if you are reading too slowly.

The article, an investigation written by Jodi Kantor and Arya Sundaram, has been months in the making. Last winter, Ms. Kantor sat down with Rumsey Taylor, an assistant editor in design, and Aliza Aufrichtig, a graphics and multimedia editor, to discuss the presentation of the investigation. The team knew it would be difficult for many readers to visualize how workplace productivity software worked and wanted to make the topic feel visceral for those who have never encountered it firsthand.

“Let’s do the thing you’re writing about,” Mr. Taylor suggested, by embedding the text of the article within an interactive tracking simulation, so readers could feel the anxiety of being monitored themselves.

 

First, Ms. Aufrichtig experimented with demos of existing tracking software. Then, she and Mr. Taylor began coding a draft of the simulation. Ms. Kantor kept the design concept in mind as she wrote the article. At a certain point, Ms. Kantor said in an email, the journalists’ work converged: “Arya and I were sharing our findings with Rumsey and Aliza, whose own close examination of productivity software fed back into the reporting.”

The first notification readers see informs them that a simulation will show them what it’s like to be tracked by productivity software and that they’ll “be graded” when they reach the end of the article. As readers scroll, notifications (“Hey there, speedreader,” and “Hey, are you still there?”) pop up on the screen hinting at their progress; a status bar indicates whether they are “active” or “idle.”

Mr. Taylor compared deciding what to track to “making an editorial judgment as to what was appropriate to the reporting and what was irrelevant to it.” For example, in an early incarnation, ghost trails (like footprints in the snow) followed readers’ cursors across the screen. The pop-ups originally appeared after 10 seconds of inactivity, but they were deemed too distracting and ultimately set to appear after 30 seconds of idleness instead.

“Our whole team wanted the reader to experience the powerful reactions to being tracked that so many sources conveyed, but not get so annoyed that they would give up on the article,” Ms. Kantor wrote.

The team also scrapped a complicated software that ranked readers, comparing them on things like reading speeds. “We felt like having your results travel beyond your experience was too far,” Ms. Aufrichtig said. And unlike most real workplace tracking software, The Times’s simulation does not store the data.

Beyond replicating the feeling of being tracked, the team also wanted to convey the strangely cheerful way the surveillance software is marketed and designed. “We were visually inspired by hipster app design,” Ms. Aufrichtig said, citing the visual language of subway advertisements with sans-serif type and saturated colors. She watched “cheery” sales videos for the software, her favorite of which told employers they could track their workers “during scheduled shifts … or always!” Regardless of how uncomfortable tracking software might make workers, most of these ads suggest wanting to change the world for the better. “We wanted to get at that visually, and tonally,” she said. Ms. Kantor and one of her editors, Lanie Shapiro, then finessed the language to capture a tone that was both playful and serious.

Since the investigation was published on Aug. 14, it has amassed more than 1,300 comments. Readers also d their own experiences being monitored at work via a form at the bottom of the webpage. “Based on the thousands of reader comments and submissions, I’d say the audience didn’t only absorb this story — they felt it,” Ms. Kantor wrote.

“I hope that this story demonstrates that format can inform the reporting very clearly,” Mr. Taylor said. “That’s our ambition with a lot of what we publish.”

When Ms. Aufrichtig read through the article post-publication, she received only an “Acceptable” grade. “You read at a reasonable pace with a few interruptions,” her final evaluation informed her. “Your focus wasn’t perfect, but we’ve seen worse.”

Even having built the system, she said, she couldn’t swing a top score.

A version of this article appears in print on Aug. 19, 2022, Section A, Page 2 of the New York edition with the headline: We Can Tell You’re Idling (Not Really)Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

 

 

ATTACHMENT TWO From CNN

WORKERS’ WAGES CONTINUE TO CLIMB, BUT NOT AS FAST AS INFLATION

 

By Tami Luhby, CNN

Updated 12:30 PM EDT, Fri July 29, 2022

 

New YorkCNN Business — 

 

Employers continued hiking workers’ pay at a brisker-than-expected pace, but the increases still weren’t enough to compensate for the even faster rise in inflation.

Wages and salaries for civilian workers increased 1.4% in the second quarter and 5.3% over the year ending in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Cost Index, released Friday. Both measures show swifter growth than in the first quarter.

The 12-month jump was the highest since the spring of 1983, though the quarterly change did not surpass the 1.5% increase in the fall of 2021.

However, the picture is not as rosy once inflation is taken into account. Wages and salaries declined 3.5% over the past year, after adjusting for rising prices.

That’s just a touch better than the 3.6% drop for the year ending in March, which was the largest decrease since the bureau began keeping inflation-adjusted records in 2001.

The data shows that people are really falling behind, said Jason Furman, an economics professor at Harvard University and former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Obama administration.

“And they’re falling behind, not because wage growth is slowing, but because price growth is so high,” Furman said. “And that’s a worrisome sign for the future.”

The super-tight labor market during the Covid-19 pandemic has forced employers to increase their compensation to fill open positions and hold on to their staff, though the raises aren’t keeping up with the cost of living.

This is adding to concerns about the duration and pervasiveness of inflation.

The Employment Cost Index report is a favorite of the Federal Reserve, which is closely monitoring the extent to which skyrocketing inflation is boosting wages to help it determine how much to hike interest rates. The US central bank on Wednesday approved its second-straight three-quarters of a percentage point rate hike as it tries to tamp down rising prices.

In a press conference Wednesday, Fed chair Jerome Powell called the index “important” because of how it accounts for the composition of the labor market.

The data tracks changes in employers’ labor costs for wages and salaries, along with health, retirement and other benefits. The index is not subject to the same distortions as other measures, such as average hourly earnings, because it keeps the composition of the workforce constant.

Wage growth won’t abate until the labor market turns and gets weaker, said Robert Fry, chief economist at his eponymous firm. Employers have continued adding jobs even as the economy contracted in the second quarter.

“You need a higher unemployment rate and more slack there to get wage increases back down,” said Fry, who expects to see price growth start to slow before pay hikes do.  Good!

Cost of benefits cools

Overall, the growth in employers’ compensation costs moderated slightly in the second quarter, coming in at 1.3%, before accounting for inflation. That compares to 1.4% in the first quarter but was still slightly higher growth than economists expected.

However, over the course of the year ending in June, total compensation costs jumped 5.1%, a quicker pace than the 4.5% increase for the year ending in March.

The growth in benefits costs, which takes into account the amount paid for retirement, health and other benefits, dipped to 1.2% for the spring, compared to 1.8% in the prior quarter.

Benefits costs increased 4.8% over the most recent 12 months, compared to 4.1% over the year ending in March.

Looking ahead

The hotter-than-projected wage data, as well as a new 40-year high in another key inflation measure released on Friday, means that the Federal Reserve will most likely continue raising interest rates this year.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, which measures the change in the prices of goods and services purchased by consumers, rose by 6.8% in June as compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

“There was nothing in today’s reports that’s going to cause the Fed to question whether they should keep tightening,” Fry said. “I’d lean towards 75 basis points the next time too, until we see some kind of break on inflation, both wages and prices.”

 

ATTACHMENT the LAST – From the U. S. Department of Labor

 

State Minimum Wage Laws

 

Updated July 1, 2022

 

·                     Table of minimum wage by state

·                     Historical Table

 

Legend

·         States with Higher Minimum Wage than Federal

·         States with the same Minimum Wage as Federal

·         States with lower Minimum Wage rates - Federal Applies

·         States with no Minimum Wage rates - Federal Applies

·         States with special Minimum Wage


Alabama

No state minimum wage law.

Employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the current Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Alaska

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $10.34

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Daily - 8, Weekly - 40

Under a voluntary flexible work hour plan approved by the Alaska Department of Labor, a 10 hour day, 40 hour workweek may be instituted with premium pay after 10 hours a day.

The premium overtime pay requirement on either a daily or weekly basis is not applicable to employers of fewer than 4 employees.

The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula.

Arizona

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $12.80

Arkansas

Applicable to employers of 4 or more employees

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $11.00

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

Starting in 2019, the minimum wage will undergo a series of scheduled increases until it reaches $11.00 in 2021.

California

Applicable to employers with 25 employees or less

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $14.00

Applicable to employers with 26 employees or more

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $15.00

Any work in excess of eight hours in one workday, in excess of 40 hours in one workweek, or in the first eight hours worked on the seventh day of work in any one workweek shall be at the rate of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay. Any work in excess of 12 hours in one day or in excess of eight hours on any seventh day of a workweek shall be paid no less than twice the regular rate of pay. California Labor Code section 510. Exceptions apply to an employee working pursuant to an alternative workweek adopted pursuant to applicable Labor Code sections and for time spent commuting. (See Labor Code section 510 for exceptions).

From 2017 through 2023, the minimum wage will increase annually to $15.00/hour on a set schedule and will be adjusted annually thereafter based upon a set formula and the number of employees.

Premium Pay After Designated Hours Daily - 8 Over 12 (double time), Weekly - 40; on 7th day: First 8 hours (time and half) Over 8 hours on 7th day (double time)

Colorado

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $12.56

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Daily - 12, Weekly - 40

Minimum wage rate and overtime provisions applicable to retail and service, commercial support service, food and beverage, and health and medical industries.

Connecticut

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $14.00

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

In restaurants and hotel restaurants, for the 7th consecutive day of work, premium pay is required at time and one half the minimum rate.

The Connecticut minimum wage rate automatically increases to 0.5 percent above the rate set in the Fair Labor Standards Act if the federal minimum wage rate equals or becomes higher than the State minimum.

Delaware

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $10.50

The State adopts the federal minimum wage rate by reference if the federal rate is greater than the State rate.

Florida

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $10.00

The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula.

Georgia

Applicable to employers of 6 or more employees

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $5.15

The State law excludes from coverage any employment that is subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act when the federal rate is greater than the State rate.

Employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the current Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Hawaii

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $10.10

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

An employee earning a guaranteed monthly compensation of $2,000 or more is exempt from the State minimum wage and overtime law.

Domestic service workers are subject to Hawaii's minimum wage and overtime requirements. Act 248, Regular Session 2013.

The State law excludes from coverage any employment that is subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act unless the State wage rate is higher than the federal rate.

Idaho

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

Illinois

Applicable to employers of 4 or more employees, excluding family members

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $12.00

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

Indiana

Applicable to employers of 2 or more employees

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

Iowa

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

The Iowa minimum wage equals the federal minimum wage rate if it is set below the federal rate.

Kansas

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

The State law excludes from coverage any employment that is subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Kentucky

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40, 7th day

The 7th day overtime law, which is separate from the minimum wage law, requires employers who permit covered employees to work seven days in any one workweek to pay the employee at a rate of time and one-half for hours worked on the seventh day when employees work all seven days of the workweek. The 7th day overtime law does not apply when the employee is not permitted to work over 40 hours total in the workweek.

The state adopts the federal minimum wage rate by reference if the federal rate is greater than the State rate.

Compensating time in lieu of overtime is allowed upon written request by an employee of any county, charter county, consolidated local government, or urban-county government, including an employee of a county-elected official.

Louisiana

No state minimum wage law.

Employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the current Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Maine

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $12.75

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

If the highest federal minimum wage is increased in excess of the State minimum wage in effect, then the State minimum wage will increase to the same amount, effective on the same date as the increase in the federal minimum wage.

From 2017 through 2020, the minimum wage will increase annually on a set schedule and will be adjusted annually thereafter based on a set formula.

Maryland

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $12.50

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

The Maryland minimum wage equals the federal minimum wage when set below the federal rate.

Employees under 18 years may be paid 85% of the minimum hourly wage rate.

Massachusetts

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $14.25

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

In no case shall the Massachusetts minimum wage rate be less than $0.50 higher than the effective federal minimum rate.

Michigan

Applicable to employers of 2 or more employees

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $9.87

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

The State law excludes from coverage any employment that is subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act unless the State wage rate is higher than the federal rate.

From 2019 through 2030, the minimum wage will increase annually on a set schedule, provided the unemployment rate in the preceding year does not exceed 8.5%.

Employees 16-17 years of age may be paid 85% of the minimum hourly wage rate.

Minnesota

Large employer (enterprise with annual revenues of $500,000 or more)

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $10.33

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 48

Small employer (enterprise with annual revenues of less than $500,000)

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $8.42

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 48

The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula.

Employees under 18 years may be paid $8.42 per hour

Missouri

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $11.15

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

In addition to the exemption for federally covered employment, the law exempts, among others, employees of a retail or service business with gross annual sales or business done of less than $500,000.

Premium pay required after 52 hours in seasonal amusement or recreation businesses.

The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula.

Continuing on from 2019 to 2023, the minimum wage will increase 85 cents per hour each year before reaching $12.00.

Mississippi

No state minimum wage law.

Employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the current Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Montana

Business with gross annual sales of more than $110,000

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $9.20

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

Business not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $4.00

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

A business not covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act whose gross annual sales are $110,000 or less may pay $4.00 per hour. However, if an individual employee is producing or moving goods between states or otherwise covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, that employee must be paid the greater of either the federal minimum wage or Montana's minimum wage.

The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula.

North Carolina

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

Premium pay is required after 45 hours a week in seasonal amusements or recreational establishments.

North Dakota

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

Nebraska

Applicable to employers of 4 or more employees

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $9.00

New Hampshire

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

The New Hampshire minimum wage equals the federal minimum wage when set below the federal rate.

New Jersey

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $13.00

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula.

There is a minimum wage of $11.90 per hour for seasonal and small employers who employee fewer than 6 people.

New Mexico

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $11.50

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

Nevada

With no health ins. benefits provided by employer

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $10.50

With health ins. benefits provided by employer and received by employee

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $9.50

The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula.

 

New York

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $13.20; $15.00 (Long Island, Westchester, & NYC)

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

These rates are in effect from December 31, 2021 through December 30, 2022. View minimum wage rates through 2022.

The New York minimum wage equals the federal minimum wage when set below the federal rate.

Under the new hospitality regulations, residential workers ("live-in workers") are now entitled to overtime for hours worked over 40 in a payroll week, instead of the prior 44 hour requirement. Therefore, overtime hours for all non-exempt workers are now any hours worked over 40 in a payroll week.

Employers operating a factory, mercantile establishment, hotel, restaurant, freight/passenger elevator, or theater; or a building employing security guards, janitors, superintendents, managers, engineers, or firemen must provide 24 hours of consecutive rest each week. Domestic workers are entitled to 24 hours of consecutive rest each week, and receive premium pay if they work during such period.

Employees receive 1 hour of pay at minimum wage rate in addition to owed wages when spread of hours exceeds 10 hours, there is a split shift, or both.

Ohio

Employers with annual gross receipts of $342,000 or more

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $9.30

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

Employers with annual gross receipts under $342,000

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula

Oklahoma

Employers of ten or more full time employees at any one location and employers with annual gross sales over $100,000 irrespective of number of full time employees

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

All other employers

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $2.00

The Oklahoma state minimum wage law does not contain current dollar minimums. Instead the state adopts the federal minimum wage rate by reference.

The State law excludes from coverage any employment that is subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Oregon

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $13.50

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

Premium pay required after 10 hours a day in nonfarm canneries, driers, or packing plants and in mills, factories or manufacturing establishments (excluding sawmills, planning mills, shingle mills, and logging camps).

From 2016 through 2022, the minimum wage will increase annually on a set schedule and will be adjusted annually thereafter based on a set formula.

Pennsylvania

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

Rhode Island

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $12.25

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

Time and one-half premium pay for work on Sundays and holidays in retail and certain other businesses is required under two laws that are separate from the minimum wage law.

South Carolina

No state minimum wage law.

Employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

South Dakota

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $9.95

The minimum wage is adjusted annually based on a set formula.

Tennessee

No state minimum wage law.

Employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the current Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

Texas

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

The State law excludes from coverage any employment that is subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

The Texas State minimum wage law does not contain current dollar minimums. Instead the State adopts the federal minimum wage rate by reference.

Utah

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

The Utah state minimum wage law does not contain current dollar minimums. Instead the state law authorizes the adoption of the federal minimum wage rate via administrative action.

The State law excludes from coverage any employment that is subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Virginia

Applicable to employers of 4 or more employees

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $11.00

Vermont

Applicable to employers of two or more employees

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $12.55

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

The Vermont minimum wage is automatically replaced with the federal minimum wage rate if it is higher than the State minimum.

Washington

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $14.49

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

Premium pay not applicable to employees who request compensating time off in lieu of premium pay.

From 2017 through 2020, the minimum wage will increase annually on a set schedule and will be adjusted annually thereafter based on a set formula.

Wisconsin

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

West Virginia

Applicable to employers of 6 or more employees at one location

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $8.75

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

Wyoming

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $5.15

Employers subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act must pay the current Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

District of Columbia

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $16.10

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

From 2017 through 2020, the minimum wage will increase annually on a set schedule and will be adjusted annually thereafter based on a set formula.

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $7.25

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has special minimum wage rates .

Puerto Rico

Employees covered by the FLSA

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $8.50

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Daily - 8, And on statutory rest day (double time), Weekly - 40 (double time)

Employees not covered by the FLSA

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $5.08

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Daily - 8, And on statutory rest day (double time), Weekly - 40 (double time)

Employers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are subject only to the federal minimum wage and all applicable regulations. Employers not covered by the FLSA will be subject to a minimum wage that is at least 70 percent of the federal minimum wage or the applicable mandatory decree rate, whichever is higher. The Secretary of Labor and Human Resources may authorize a rate based on a lower percentage for any employer who can show that implementation of the 70 percent rate would substantially curtail employment in that business.

American Samoa

American Samoa has special minimum wage rates .

Virgin Islands

State law

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $10.50

Guam

Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $8.75

Premium Pay After Designated Hours : Weekly - 40

Footnote

The overtime premium rate is one and one-half times the employee's regular rate, unless otherwise specified.