My neighbor recently muttered that he was making more money in 1987 than he was in 2007. “That sucks,” he exclaimed.

No doubt. And according to some new tax stats written up in today’s New York Times, 2005 incomes on average are trailing those from 2000.

The average income in 2005 was $55,238, still nearly 1 percent less than $55,714 in 2000, after adjusting for inflation.

This is a new phenomenon, with wages growing every year since after WWII until this century.

But the number of millionaires grew by 26 percent, David Cay Johnston writes.

I haven’t experienced this, but then again, I haven’t been in the same job for the past few years.

Did anyone catch the recently released data about young women in their 20s who are actually outearning men in their age group? My colleague Gail Rosenblum wrote a story about the trend in Minneapolis.

In Minneapolis, the wages of full-time women in their 20s were 19 percent higher than men’s, or $31,000 vs. $26,000, said researcher Trent Alexander of the University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Population Center.

What’s happening with your wages? Are you worried that the cost of living will soon outpace your earnings? Is that frustrating reality old news for you? Or is the money rolling in and your millionaire status is just about a given?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 21st, 2007 at 1:45 pm and is filed under Main, work. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.