Wage Disparity

The Washington Post informs us that wages and salaries are rising faster for people in higher earning jobs than in lower earning ones. This wage disparity exists, according to the Post, because better skilled and educated people are more in demand and better able to press for higher wages.

Wages are rising more than twice as fast for highly paid workers in the Washington area as they are for low-paid workers, an analysis of federal data by The Washington Post shows.

That means the spoils of the region's economic expansion are going disproportionately to workers who are already well-paid, widening a gap between rich and poor in a place where it is already wider than in most of the country.

The region's economy is strong and businesses are expanding, hiring more software engineers, financial analysts, salespeople and other skilled workers, thus bidding up their pay. But companies are simultaneously finding ways to automate clerical tasks, move call centers to cheaper places and handle business online, weakening demand for less-skilled workers.

So on the one hand, we are seeing educated, skilled people getting higher increases in salary and decreasing demand, therefore lower wages, for less skilled labor. Anyone care to explain this frantic desire among some people to continue the flood of unskilled illegal immigration?

Other Links to this Post

1. Blue Crab Boulevard » Blog Archive » States Step In — Monday, 10 July , 2006 @ 10:00 am