U.S. wage cuts likely to be long-lasting

WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- U.S. wages now being slashed to cope with the economic downturn are likely to stay low long after the recession is over, experts say.

The 2001 recession, which was mild compared to the current one, was the first in which wages actually fell, and they didn't rebound until five years later in 2006, figures indicate. With that in mind, it may likely be many years until wages recover from the severe economic setback the country is now enduring, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

The current recession has yet to produce numbers showing wages cuts have reversed an overall pattern of long-term wage growth, but the U.S. Labor Department's wage-price inflation index does indicate such growth is slowing rapidly -- wages rose in the first quarter by the smallest amount since the index began in 1982.

The situation is worsening the fate of workers trying to rebuild investment nest eggs socked by downturns in the housing and stock markets, analysts said.

"It is going to be a long time before we see sustained pay raises," Harvard University economist Lawrence Katz told the Post.