US wage growth pales relative to stock gains

New York

BEING an American worker with no stake in the equity market has, by one measure at least, seldom been costlier.

Even though wages are improving, the rate of growth in what companies pay employees pales in comparison to what stocks have handed investors over the last six years. In fact, with equities rising 20 per cent annually and wages up 2 per cent, the gap has never been wider in any bull market since 1966.