Additional citation: How Can The Labor Market Be So Weak When The Wage Bill Is Growing Rapidly? - https://www.haver.com/articles/how-can-the-labor-market-be-so

Additional citation: How Can The Labor Market Be So Weak When The Wage Bill Is Growing Rapidly? - https://www.haver.com/articles/how-can-the-labor-market-be-so-weak-when-the-wage-bill-is-growing-rapidly https://www.haver.com/articles/how-can-the-labor-market-be-s... - December 17th, 2025 > For all the talk of a weakening labor market, the wage bill for private nonfarm employees (private nonfarm employees times their average weekly earnings) has risen at annualized rates of 5.85% and 5.91% in October and November, respectively, compared to the median increase of 5.75% in the eleven moths of 2025. If these data are valid, it would seem that labor market earnings are growing relatively fast, especially in light of all the talk of a weak labor market. Why would employers be increasing the labor wage bill so rapidly if labor demand were weak? Perhaps because the labor supply is shrinking.