Sign of inequality: US salaries recover even as jobs haven’t

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans as a whole are now earning the same amount in wages and salaries that they did before the virus struck — even with nearly 9 million fewer people working — a stark sign of the economic inequality that has marked the pandemic recession and recovery. The turnaround in total wages underscores how disproportionately America’s job losses have afflicted workers in lower-income occupations — from restaurants and hotels to retail stores and entertainment venues — rather than in higher-paying industries, where employees have actually gained jobs as well as income since early last year.