A new report from the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed that compensation earned by U.S. workers rose in November. According to the report, earnings increased by 0.3 percent, which is said to be a sign that labor markets are slowly improving.
Wage and Labor Reports
According to the Commerce Department report, the increases that are shown for wages and salaries are the best since April. And because of these improved numbers, total personal incomes increased by 0.4 percent in November bringing the annual rate to $12.2 trillion. This is said to be the biggest gain since may.
According to the Labor Department, the increases were due to a 0.6 percent increase in hours worked. Income that was earned by small business owners also increased by 1.2 percent. The good news is that these numbers fall in line with the predictions coming from economists.
Some other numbers from the reports are as follows:
- After-tax disposable incomes rose 0.2 percent in November
- Real disposable incomes rose 2.3 percent
- Consumer spending increased 0.5 percent to an annual rate of $10.2 trillion
- Inflation-adjusted real spending increased o.2 percent
What These Numbers Mean to You
While you may not know what all of the figures represent, it’s important to pay attention to the increases, which basically mean that not only is income increasing, but spending is good too. In other words, people not only are making more money, but they feel comfortable spending what they have too. It’s good to note that the increases are not extreme, but at least they’re headed in the right direction.
Earlier in the week, it was determined that increases in these numbers for the quarter may determine whether the Federal reserve would begin raising its rates again. Since there is no official word yet, we’ll just have to wait and see what the days will bring.
Have you earned more and/or increased your spending in the past few months?