Good & bad jobs & wages news

The good news: America’s unemployment rate fell to 5.8%, the best in six years. Employees added 214,000 jobs, putting America on track for its best year since 1999.

The bad news: Median family income in the U.S. has fallen to 1995 levels. In other words, workers are no better off than they were two decades ago.

Ohio's unemployment rate is 5.6%, slightly better than the national percentage. West Virginia's is 6.6%, much worse than the USA average. George is the worst, at 7.9%.

At my 1996 retirement from the BJ my income was $82,800 in today’s dollars. And I was 14^th on the Guild income list, which means the newsroom median wasn’t that far below me. And it didn’t include management.

How many BJ Guild members today are making $82,800?

The amazing and understanding John S. Knight as the BJ’s owner, a strong Guild and a strong newspaper, plus the Guild negotiating a 401(k) into the contract in 1989 has made it possible for me to travel to 52 countries, 43 states and take 11 cruises.

I despise what newspaper owners post-JSK have done to its employees, particularly by not getting in front of the Internet when it was a baby. 

Newspapers had the perfect product to profit from the Internet, but operated under the same protocol the owners had used since Guttenberg.

I have nothing but praise and sympathy for what the current BJ newsroom folks are doing while wallowing in difficult circumstances that were not of their making. Their performances are incredible. 

I would have been hard-pressed to match it in my days at the BJ, given the obstacles they face.