Not long ago, we worried a lot about the lack of jobs. We talked about rising unemployment rates and worried about students graduating into an economy that had absolutely no jobs to offer. We saw individuals with years of work experience and advanced degrees getting laid off, struggling to find any work. The problem we seem to be facing now is similar–still troublesome, still limiting. Now we’re left wondering where exactly the wages are. We’ve got the jobs–the labor market is approaching full employment–but wages remain the same.  Logically, an increase in the number of jobs should put more pressure on wages, which would then rise. The unemployment rate is below six percent, which is a huge improvement. Unfortunately, earnings growth is nonexistent.It’s a strange occurrence, leading many to question why exactly that’s happening. Place When employment studies come out, they’re spread across an entire population. They mean that “overall” employment rates are higher. So what happens if people are getting jobs in one place? It alters the overall statistics. The same is true of wages–while they may be increasing in areas where jobs are growing, they aren’t increasing everywhere. Thus, the numbers are distorted. There are also a few industries that are experiencing wage growth, but it isn’t universal. While mining and energy are boasting more jobs and higher wages, retail and food service workers have experience little to no wage growth–and they represent a much larger portion of the labor market. There are a lot of jobs being added to industries that lack wage growth, which causes the overall numbers to be down. Jobs in goods-producing industries have grown significantly since the recession, but jobs in service producing industries (the lowest wages and slowests to grow) are also growing. Discouraged and Part Time Workers Unemployment statistics obviously don’t account for everything, which makes it hard to get a real grasp on what is actually going on. It leaves us with a class of invisible unemployed people–discouraged and part time workers who desire more hours. Technically, they’re employed, though they likely aren’t working the number of hours they’re hoping to. They’re also potentially working at jobs that are well below their skill and experience level. The official unemployment rate is around 5.8 percent excludes these folks who are still not making ends meet with their part time hours. In reality, the number of unemployed Americans has declined twice as quickly as the number of discouraged and part time workers. If we break it down, the difference becomes even more clear. In 2002, official unemployment accurately reflected what was happening in the labor force, with numbers far higher than more “invisible” types of unemployment. Since, the spread has lessened. Essentially, unemployment rates are not at all accurate representations of the actual condition of the labor force in America. It’s also important to note that the workforce is aging–which leads to a difference in visible and invisible employment rates. A shift in the workforce Recently, there’s been an increase in work completed by companies in America by workers who are not American. An emphasis on heavy production for low labor costs have changed the way many companies do business. They’ve led to an increase in productivity and a higher profit margin–but they aren’t good for American businesses. Expansion and hiring abroad have controlled labor costs within the United States and have greatly benefited investors–but wages are not growing. What it means Unfortunately, there are stories all across the United States that echo these findings–people earning low wages who are technically employed but whose salaries have failed to keep up with the rising cost of living. Healthcare is more expensiv