By One Measure, Real Wages Are Up 1.4 Percent

Real wages are rising at a rate of 1.4 percent if a more thorough method of calculation is used, the White House Council of Economic Advisers said.

Bonuses and benefits like health insurance and retirement contributions should be considered when wages are measured, CEA Chairman Kevin Hassett said Sept. 5.

“Bonuses and paid leave are growing the fastest lately,” but the “traditional economic approach” doesn’t take account of them, he said.

Hassett’s remarks accompanied the release of a CEA report on wage measurements.

Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, questioned some of the claims in the ...