REUTERS - Jobs growth in the U.S. since the 2008 recession has been undermined by lower wages, with workers earning an average 23 percent less than earnings from jobs which were lost, a report by an organization representing U.S. cities said on Monday.
The average annual salary in sectors where jobs were lost - particularly manufacturing and construction - during the 2008-9 financial crisis was $61,637, according to the report by the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM), which represents cities with populations of more than 30,000.
Job gains through the second quarter of 2014 in comparative sectors showed average wages of $47,171, implying $93 billion in lower wage income, the report said.
The report also showed that the majority of metro areas - 73 percent - had households earning salaries of less than $35,000 a year.
The latest monthly employment data from the Labor Department showed that more than 200,000 jobs were created for the sixth straight month in July, but that wages were about flat in the private sector.
American workers, on average, earned $24.45 an hour in July, up only a penny from June. Over the last year, wages have grown just 2 percent, in keeping with where they have been stuck since late 2009.
For a link to the USCM press release and report: http://www.usmayors.org/
(Reporting by Megan Davies, editing Bernard Orr)
