Economic Trends

THE HARD-HIT U.S. WORKER

The latest figures from the Commerce Dept. confirm what most people already knew: Workers are still taking it on the chin. According to a report released on Aug. 30, the share of national income that is devoted to wages inched down again in the second quarter of 1995, hitting 59.8%, which is a new postwar low.

The wage share has now fallen for five straight quarters. And benefits are not making up the slack, either: Their share of national income is flat over the past year.BY MICHAEL J. MANDEL