IRT "... why wages aren’t rising,"  It is a numbers game.  If your business model/plan goes with a percentage allocation and your labor runs at say 25% .... well then all of the other expenses will affect that number.  It is all interrelated.  The biggest unknown variable is often the income side.  With more and more money going to the government in taxes it is hard for the private sector to keep up.  I know lots of people whose goal in life is to get a government job.