Household incomes rise, however..
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Household income crept higher and the poverty rate edged lower last year, the government said Tuesday, while the number of Americans without health insurance rose by 2.2 million to 47 million people.
Median household income rose 0.7 percent to $48,200, adjusted for inflation, the Census Bureau reported. But more people had to be at work in each household to get there.
That’s because median earnings for individuals working full-time year-round actually fell for the third consecutive year. For men, earnings slipped 1.1 percent to a median of $42,300, while for women, earnings sank 1.2 percent to a median of $32,500.
Author’s Commentary
This is not surprising considering that since 2000 and many businesses have moved parts of their operations overseas to save costs. The transfer of American jobs outside of the US will have an effect on income levels in the United States.
What was originally manufacturing job loss is now effecting white collar jobs also from programmers to customer service jobs. More job losses will likely follow as companies find ways to cut costs.
Income levels should continue to fall, unless Americans can find ways to offset job losses. For those that are clever, some employees may find ways to improve their value by cutting costs by outsourcing and managing this. Others that are already in business can continue this trend of outsourcing and profit from it.
The book The 4-Hour Workweek cleverly shows how people can benefit from outsourcing to give themselves plenty of free time in the process.
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