December 15, 2005
JS-3051

Snow Statement on Growth in Hourly Wages

"Following on last week's record household wealth levels and a 0.5 percent increase in real hourly earnings in October, today's announcement that inflation adjusted hourly wages grew 1 percent in November is welcome news for America's workers and another sign of the strength of the U.S. economy.

"One way to look at the health of the economy is to view where we are compared to previous business cycles.  Real hourly wages are up 1.1 percent versus the previous business cycle peak in early 2001.  That means workers are today earning more per hour in real terms than they did at the height of the 1990s expansion.  By comparison, at the same point in the business cycle of the 1990s, real hourly wages were down 2.1 percent.

"When the ingenuity of American workers and entrepreneurs is free to create and innovate, the result is economic growth and higher standards of living.  That is why it is so important that we keep in place President Bush's economic policies of lower taxes on individuals and investment.  These policies, combined with sound monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, have set our economy on the right course of sustained economic growth. 

"Higher real wages, combined with 4.5 million new jobs created since May of 2003 and GDP growth that has averaged 4.1 percent, with 4.3 percent growth in the most recent quarter, gives us much reason for good cheer in this holiday season."