| MARKET ROUNDUP |
| Dow |
+19.46 to 17,573.93 |
| S&P 500 |
+0.71 to 2,031.92 |
| Nasdaq |
-5.94 to 4,632.53 |
| 10-YR Yield |
-.006 to 2.312% |
| Gold |
+$32.60 to $1,175.20 |
| Crude Oil |
+$0.75 to $78.66 |
Mike Larson, Money and Markets columnist and editor of the Safe Money Report, is giving a presentation to Safe Money Report members in Germany today. George Lambert, an editor on the Money and Markets team, is filling in.
This morning, the Labor Department announced that the U.S. added 214,000 jobs in October, enough to push the unemployment rate down to 5.8 percent — a six-year low.
The nation has added at least 200,000 jobs in each of the past nine months. Those numbers keep the U.S. on pace for its best labor market year since 1999.
More people working is indeed a sign that the job market should continue to improve. And it suggests rising economic confidence among businesses, leading them to keep their workers and look to hire even more employees.
Still, the improvement in hiring has yet to translate into higher wages. Average wages have grown slightly faster than inflation. On top of that, median annual household income of $54,045 remains 4.6 percent lower than when the recession began in late 2007, according to Sentier Research.
 This week, a majority of voters in four states voted to raise the minimum wage. |
However, this week, voters in four states said it was time to tip the scale by passing minimum wage increases. Their action brings to 17 the number of states that since 2013 have opted to raise minimum wages.
Moreover, opinion polls show significant majorities of Americans support increasing the federal minimum wage, which is currently set at $7.25. A full-time worker earning the federal minimum wage earns just over $15,000 a year, hardly enough for a family to survive. And like most issues in front of elected officials, it has become a political football.
President Obama said in his 2014 State of the Union Address that he intends to raise it to $10.10 — a 40 percent increase. But Republicans argue that across the board hikes would lead to layoffs.
In the states, Republican-elected officials have generally resisted pressure from unions and community groups to raise the minimum wages.
| “Is there a way businesses can afford to pay a living wage while remaining profitable?” |
So is there a way businesses can afford to pay a living wage while remaining profitable and hiring more workers? morehere
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