In Stubborn Recession, Those with Jobs Benefit from Greater Purchasing Power
It’s the “little-commented-on” silver lining of the Great Recession — employees who held onto their jobs are doing pretty well. While the ranks of unemployed workers who have been out of work for 27 weeks or more is a staggering 45% — since World War II, it has never before been above 26% — real average hourly pay has risen nearly 5 percent since the start of the recession in December 2007. Nominal wages (the numbers people see in their paychecks} have risen throughout the slump, as companies have passed along some of their productivity gains to their remaining workers. And inflation, of course, has been almost non-existent. Now, if only the still-employed would stop looking over their shoulders at their less-fortunate neighbors and go on a spending spree, maybe we could kick things into gear… The New York Times Aug. 11, 2010
Tags: Incomes, purshasing power, real wages, recession
In a Catch-22-type situation, stock-market volatility, a poor housing market and high unemployment are depressing consumer spending … which, in turn, is making companies reluctant to expand payrolls. Flat consumer spending and personal income levels are only the latest indication that the economy would continue to struggle in the second half of the year. 
According to a 
The latest reason for the stalling recovery — American consumers are tapped out in terms of credit. More of them than ever are poor credit risks, based on their FICO scores. Some 25.5 percent of American cosumers — nearly 43.4 million people — now have a credit score of 599 or below, marking them as poor risks for lenders. Their is some good news on the plus side, however, as many people have wored to pay down debts during the recession. The number of consumers who have a top score of 800 or above has increased in recent years. 
