Indicators · Jobs
Labour's share of income
Triggered since Jan 2026
93.4 in Q2 2026 (2017 = 100), the lowest since records began in 1947; down 3.3 points on a year earlier.
US recessions Periods when this signal was on
What it measures
The share of US business output paid to workers as wages and benefits (nonfarm business sector, index 2017 = 100).
Why it matters
It is the most direct measure of the argument on this site: output keeps growing while less of it is paid for work. Since 1990 only recessions and the recoveries after them have seen it fall faster than 2 points in a year.
When it triggers
Triggers at a new low by half a point or more, reached by a fall of 2 points or more in a year.
Past triggers
Replaying the rule on the data from Jan 1990, it triggered in Jan 2009, Oct 2022, Jan 2026.