Here’s how much money the weak economic recovery costs you

By Joseph Lawler | Washington Examiner

If the current economic recovery had kept pace with other post-World War II recoveries, the average American would have $2,700 more in annual income.

That is the number crunched by the American Action Forum, a right-of-center think tank, based on personal income data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Slow income growth for Americans is one of the signs that Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen reads for making decisions about whether to loosen or tighten monetary policy. She listed it among the five factors on her “economic dashboard” in March.

She said then that “3 and 4 percent wage inflation would be normal.”

The most recent jobs report, however, showed hourly wages increased just 2 percent year-over-year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ more comprehensive Employment Cost Index, which takes into account benefits as well as wages, showed compensation rising just 1.8 percent on the year for the first quarter.

at Washington Examiner.