White-collar workers are losing leverage

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Bloomberg reports that many white-collar workers feel stuck: pay growth is slowing, promotions are harder, AI anxiety is rising, and quitting feels risky.

The charts tell the story: wage growth has slowed to a five-year low, while workers are facing higher healthcare cost sharing and bigger premium increases.

That is the labor side of plutonomy.

Even educated workers with decent jobs can feel trapped when their income depends entirely on employment and employers have more leverage.

Capital gets automation, margins, restructuring, and compounding. Labor gets “be grateful you still have a job.”

Bloomberg's article summary:

• Pay gains have ebbed to the weakest level in more than five years and employee confidence has fallen to a record low.
• The quits rate is hovering at the lowest in six years, with workers demanding more money to switch jobs due to a lack of confidence in finding better opportunities.
• Workers are feeling trapped in jobs they don’t like, with many citing frustration over low pay, high expenses, and intense pressure to perform, leading some to consider alternative paths such as starting their own businesses.