The data is very good because it is not susceptible to outliers (since it captures the median rather than the arithmetic mean) and it’s adjusted for inflation, so it captures the actual purchase power. All numbers are in reference to Q1 1979. We can see that between 1979 and late 1999 inflation outpaced nominal wage growth, hence the drop in real salaries. Any value above 100 means that the purchase power is higher by that % than in Q1 1979, any value below that means the purchase power dropped in comparison to 1979. A vaue of 120 means that the purchase power in that quarter is 20% higher than in Q1 1979.
The spike during 2020 is explained by the very high unemployment rate. Low income workers were laid off en masse, thereby skewing the data substantially.
HulaguIncarnate on
Imagine getting a job in 1979 and getting the same fucking salary (inflation adjusted) 20 years later
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Source: [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LES1252881600Q](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LES1252881600Q)
Tool: Excel
The data is very good because it is not susceptible to outliers (since it captures the median rather than the arithmetic mean) and it’s adjusted for inflation, so it captures the actual purchase power. All numbers are in reference to Q1 1979. We can see that between 1979 and late 1999 inflation outpaced nominal wage growth, hence the drop in real salaries. Any value above 100 means that the purchase power is higher by that % than in Q1 1979, any value below that means the purchase power dropped in comparison to 1979. A vaue of 120 means that the purchase power in that quarter is 20% higher than in Q1 1979.
The spike during 2020 is explained by the very high unemployment rate. Low income workers were laid off en masse, thereby skewing the data substantially.
Imagine getting a job in 1979 and getting the same fucking salary (inflation adjusted) 20 years later