Katherine Blauvelt

Katherine Blauvelt, a policy analyst at the Minnesota Budget Project, a nonpartisan tax and budget think tank that's part of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, called Tuesday's Census Bureau results "very disappointing."The six-year downdraft in Minnesota is not unique but representative of the country, she said.Most of the gains went to the highest-income Minnesotans, she said.

"Workers worked smarter and harder all throughout this decade -- productivity was up -- but most Minnesotans did not get the benefit of the economic growth," said Blauvelt.

The Legislature responded to recent economic problems with budget cuts "that made it hard for low- to moderate-income workers to make ends meet," said Katherine Blauvelt, policy analyst with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.She urged lawmakers to find different solutions as they face another deficit next year.

The Census Bureau results released Tuesday were "very disappointing," according to Katherine Blauvelt, a policy analyst at the Minnesota Budget Project, a nonpartisan tax and budget think tank that's part of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.Blauvelt said the six-year downdraft in Minnesota is not unique but representative of the country.Most of the gains went to the highest-income Minnesotans, she said."Workers worked smarter and harder all throughout this decade -- productivity was up -- but most Minnesotans did not get the benefit of the economic growth," Blauvelt said.

Katherine Blauvelt, a policy analyst at the Minnesota Budget Project, a nonpartisan tax and budget think tank that's part of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, called Tuesday's Census Bureau results "very disappointing."The six-year downdraft in Minnesota is not unique but representative of the country, she said.Most of the gains went to the highest-income Minnesotans, she said.

"Workers worked smarter and harder all throughout this decade — productivity was up — but most Minnesotans did not get the benefit of the economic growth," said Blauvelt.

The Census Bureau results released Tuesday were "very disappointing," according to Katherine Blauvelt, a policy analyst at the Minnesota Budget Project, a nonpartisan tax and budget think tank that's part of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.

Blauvelt said the six-year downdraft in Minnesota is not unique but representative of the country.Most of the gains went to the highest-income Minnesotans, she said.

"Workers worked smarter and harder all throughout this decade -- productivity was up -- but most Minnesotans did not get the benefit of the economic growth," Blauvelt said.

Feel free to email Katherine on how to use the table (katherine@mncn.org) or with other questions about navigating the BLS site - it has a wealth of information that can be a little overwhelming.

The buying power of U.S. workers' wages is certainly hurting right now.Inflation for 2008 is tracking above 4%, while weekly paychecks this past year have increased just 2.8%.This decline in earnings power means a person's earnings doesn't go as far as it used to.And that's not good news for the economy.

-Nan Madden and Katherine Blauvelt

Katherine BlauveltPolicy Analyst, 651-757-3089

Katherine Blauvelt, Policy Analyst, >

Email your questions about the forecast to Katherine Blauvelt at the Minnesota Budget Project, at katherine@mncn.orgGet the forecast and related materials from Minnesota Department of Finance

Updated December 21, 2007

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By Katherine Blauvelt of the Minnesota Budget Project.