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Wages for most Connecticut workers improved between 2006 and 2007, according to a new report.  But the authors warn that the numbers represent slow progress.

Connecticut Voices for Children has produced its annual investigation into wage trends, entitle The State of Working in Connecticut.  It finds that while wages improved in real terms between 2006 and 2007, they remain lower than they were earlier in the decade.  In 2007, the state’s median hourly wage was up one-point-four percent from the previous year.  Looking at the longer picture though, while productivity improved 5 percent between 2003 and 2007, wages actually declined over that period.  

Co-author Doug Hall says the news is particularly troubling at the start of a recession.

“With families having only just now seen a slight upturn in their wages they’re in a very vulnerable situation and we see it being particularly complicated by the fact that families are facing unprecedented expenses for energy and for groceries and food.  It just feels a lot like Connecticut is on the precipice of an economic situation that could be really hard for regular people, for working families, to struggle through.”

The report does note that wages for women and African Americans have improved significantly – up six and eight percent respectively over the year.  But wages for Hispanic workers show no progress, with Hispanics earning just 61 percent of a white median hourly wage.