• Nevoic@lemm.ee
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    7 months ago

    That website seems to be doing the mean average. The median average is 41k currently, and back in 2020 median income was 35k, so the OP post might be a few years old.

    The (mean) average might be 59k now, but half of people are making below 41k. Median is generally a better stat because excessive incomes on the ends don’t skew it massively. Adjusted for inflation this is essentially the exact same situation workers have been in for half a century. Wage growth is non existent, adjusted for inflation.

      • Nevoic@lemm.ee
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        7 months ago

        This is explicitly just for full-time workers. There are links on that website that show the numbers for part-time workers, which are far, far lower. The ~40k number we were posting was the average for all workers.

        It’s important to remember that 39.5 hours a week is part time, and a lot of low-wage jobs keep employees under full time to lower benefit requirements. So all those types of jobs aren’t included in your calculation. It’s better to do the median of all workers.

        • iopq@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          The 40K number is for all workers above the age of 15

          I don’t know about you, but I earned little income until my 20s, so if you include dependents, there’s a quite a few people with no income. While they only bring the midpoint down, it’s also not a fair point of comparison

          • Nevoic@lemm.ee
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            7 months ago

            None of these sources include people with no income in statistics about worker income.

            • iopq@lemmy.world
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              7 months ago

              My buddy worked at an ice cream parlor part time after school. He was included into the statistics because he was a worker over 15. But he was also a dependent who lived with his parents.

              So when you say half of workers make X, it includes dependents who work like 10 hours a week.

              • Nevoic@lemm.ee
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                7 months ago

                Yeah, and it includes doctors making 900k a year. Medians are good because they ignore the extreme ends. It is a literal fact that half of workers in America make under 41k a year. Maybe that fact is uncomfortable, but it’s an actual fact so it’s something you’ll have to deal with.

                It seems you don’t actually disagree with anything I’m saying though.

                • iopq@lemmy.world
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                  7 months ago

                  But it’s not useful because the household income is over 70K

                  It makes it sound like half of people are supporting themselves making 40K, but that’s not the case

                  • Nevoic@lemm.ee
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                    7 months ago

                    To pretend like it says nothing about the state of the country is a complete joke.

                    Over half of people 18-29 are living with their parents, because you can’t live on your own and save up for a house on the median income anymore. Hell, before I got laid off I was making 130k a year and still didn’t move out because I knew at any point I could be let go (which is exactly what happened we got bought out and massive lay offs followed), and didn’t want to throw all my money away renting.

                    People can’t support themselves on 40k a year, so they’re not. More people than ever are dependent on others to live, because they aren’t being paid enough to live. I have friends (we’re all in our mid 20s) who are making around the medium income. Two of them recently got let go, and were back living with their parents inside of a month because they weren’t able to save any money between rent, food, and other basic necessities to live.