April 1, 2022, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement on the latest jobs numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that noted a 5.6 percent increase in average hourly earnings, which is still not keeping up with the current 7.9 percent consumer inflation rate:
“Buried deep in the March jobs report is the punchline which pulls the rug out from under any happy talk about the Biden economy. To quote the Bureau of Labor Statistics summary, ‘Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 13 cents to $31.73 in March. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 5.6 percent.’
“Sounds like good news right? In the past year average hourly earnings have increased by 5.6 percent. Only one problem: the same BLS reported two weeks ago that in February the cost of living grew by 7.9 percent over the previous year.
“So, April Fools! The 5.6 percent reported raise received by Americans is actually a real wage cut of 2.3 percent. That’s right, the harder you work in the Biden economy the less your money buys.
“Everyone knew that Joe Biden’s political career began in the early 1970s, but no one expected him to go back to the future by transforming our 21st century economy into the vicious wage-price spirals of the decade that brought us disco.”
For media availability contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 or media@limitgov.org.
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Correction: The real wage cut for Americans was 2.3 percent the past year, not 1.3 percent.