Larry on Careers: Income Trends 1: Overview

Monday, December 3, 2012

Income Trends 1: Overview

This begins a series examining several studies of income statistics in 2011

Do you feel that your income falls behind your output every month? Are you one of the millions who used to be in the middle class—but now find yourself officially listed in poverty? Recent studies indicate you are right! Income for the average American increased 2.8% to $34,053 while CEOs for S&P companies rose 13.9% to $12.94 million. In other words, income for most Americans increased $953.48. CEO incomes increased $1,790 million.

Recent Studies Confirm Increasing Income Gap

One study, Pulling Apart a State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends released November 15 jointly by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute. Their study analyzed data from the U.S. Census' Bureau’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement (formerly called the March Current Population Survey). The other release, Trends in CEO Pay, issued by the AFL-CIO but using data from Salary.com, the U.S. Departments of Labor and the Census. I acknowledge all three sources represent liberal perspectives.

Pulling Apart concludes “Over the three decades since the late 1970s, states have not experienced broadly shared growth. While overall, the economy of the United States has grown over the period, most of the benefits of that growth have accrued to families at the top of the income distribution, lower-income families and families in the middle of the income distribution have seen their income grow only slowly. This has widened the gap in income between high-income families and poor and middle-class families.”

Multiple Findings in the Research

The studies included additional insights: