LOS ANGELES, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Progressive interest groups are sounding an alarm about the lag between the U.S. economy's growth and the growth of jobs.
The U.S. economy grew at a brisk 4.4 percent clip last year, and the Labor Department pegs the unemployment rate at 5.2 percent, the lowest in four years, but the share of people who have stopped hunting for work is the largest it has been since 1988, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.
Jared Bernstein of the liberal Economic Policy Institute in Washington points out wages remain relatively flat, growing more slowly last year than the rate of inflation -- translating into a cut in take-home pay for many workers.
That stagnation indicates to skeptics that the traditional business cycle -- in which growth leads to a tight labor market that bids up wages -- may be a thing of the past.
"The big question is: Has there been some structural change, in that what we're seeing in the rearview mirror doesn't apply to what's in front of us?" Bernstein asked.
