Employee wages

Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that 2023 saw a pullback in labor cost growth. That may keep the downtrend in inflation going.

"About 37% of teens worked last year," says Abha Bhattarai of The Washington Post. "These teens are really excited," employers tell her.

Competition for workers has been driving up wages recently, but rising prices are taking more out of their paychecks.

According to new data, there are now 1.4 workers for each open job. Normally, that ratio is closer to 2.8 workers per vacant position.

Average weekly earnings give a snapshot of how much workers are taking home in their paychecks.

Workers' bargaining power is greater.

Three years after a similar, failed Obama administration proposal, the Department of Labor has issued a new proposal that would allow most employees making $35,000 or less to qualify for overtime pay. This time, the proposal is not tied to inflation — something that employers might welcome. 

It puts some pressure on firms that might not be ready to raise workers' pay, one economist says.

Employees at Whole Foods, which Amazon now owns, will get the same pay hike. Amazon's hourly operations and customer service employees, some who already make $15 per hour, will also see a wage increase.

Victims of wage theft have few options, a Politico investigative reporter says.