Sorry.

For the first time in 14 years, the American workforce has in effect gotten an across-the-board pay cut.

That's the sad news in this LA Times article (hat tip to Steve M at No More Mr. Nice Blog)...

This is the first time that salaries have increased more slowly than prices since the 1990-91 recession. Though salary growth has been relatively sluggish since the 2001 downturn, inflation also had stayed relatively subdued until last year, when the consumer price index rose 2.7%. But wages rose only 2.5%.

The effective 0.2-percentage-point erosion in workers' living standards occurred while the economy expanded at a healthy 4%, better than the 3% historical average.

But hey! I'm no gloom and doomer. I'll share the good news, too...

Meanwhile, corporate profits hit record highs as companies got more productivity out of workers while keeping pay increases down.

Producing more and earning less? Some might find that uniquely American...