In any economic upturn the last group of workers to prosper are typically the poorest
earners, such as low-skilled shopstaff, food preparers, care-givers and temps. Their pay
was walloped in the Great Recession a decade ago, and the recovery since has been
unusually slow.
The benefits are not equally spread. In Wisconsin, as in much of the country, more
jobs are being created in urban areas and in services. Laura Dresser, a labor economist,
points to a very big racial inequality among workers. Wages have been rising fastest for
African-Americans, but poorer blacks, especially those with felony conviction, are also
likelier to have fallen out of the formal labor market, so are not counted in unemployment
figures.