AP FACT CHECK: Trump on wage gains
Posted Jan 31, 2018 01:26:55 AM.
Last Updated Jan 31, 2018 02:00:52 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WASHINGTON – A look at President Donald Trump’s statement Tuesday night claiming that American wages are finally rising and how it compares with the facts:
TRUMP: “After years and years of wage stagnation, we are finally seeing rising wages.”
THE FACTS: Actually, they are not rising any faster than they have before. Average hourly pay rose 2.5 per cent in 2017, slightly slower than the 2.9 per cent increase recorded in 2016.
Most economists say wages should increase at a faster rate as the unemployment rate drops. The unemployment rate stands at a 17-year low of 4.1 per cent, but that has done little so far to spark rising wages.
The last time unemployment was this low, in the late 1990s, average hourly pay was rising at a 4 per cent pace.
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EDITOR’S NOTE _ A look at the veracity of claims by political figures
