SELINSGROVE — National employment numbers announced Friday and a local expert says they were disappointing and well below expectations. Bob Garrett, president and CEO of the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce, says wage growth also remains low and tried to explain why.
Garrett said, “As we add more costs to businesses to create jobs, that means they can put less and less into paying wages. If you raise taxes, if you have another mandate, another regulation that cost businesses money, that is one more dollar that they can’t put into a pay raise, that otherwise would have gone there.”
Garrett said the numbers aren’t yet clear though, “We won’t know for another week or so exactly what the local wage growth is. We are struck right around 2 percent per year. Usually in recovery you look to 3 or 4 percent wage growth.”
Garrett and Rick Wible from R.E.W. Financial were guests on WKOK’s On The Mark program Friday talking about employment numbers, economic recovery and more. You can listen online at www.wkok.com. (Ali Stevens)