Dialog on Wage Stagnation Let's start with a basic description of where the economy is today. Today's young adults, in contrast, face diminished prospects and many may never achieve their parents' level of economic security, despite the fact that so many of them live in two-earner families. During the post-World War II boom, men's earnings were the primary engine of economic growth, more than doubling in real terms. After 1973, however, the absolute level of earnings of men stagnated. Average earnings of men are lower today than they were a generation ago.
Economic hardship is now remarkably widespread.
Wage growth has been slow and inequality has increased even among college graduates. In the early 1970s, the number of high school and college degree holders with earnings this low was much smaller. At the same time, the number of workers and families with very high earnings and incomes has increased dramatically. Inequality in the US has always been higher than in many other advanced economies. But, in recent years, inequality has increased more in the US than in Canada, Australia, France, Sweden, the Netherlands and others.