The Great Divergence: Corporate Profits vs Worker Wages

How wealth extraction accelerated after 1978, setting the stage for today's systematic family burden of $30,000-70,000 annually

Corporate Profits
Worker Wages
CEO Compensation
Worker Productivity
+400%
Corporate Profit Growth
Since 1978, while worker wages increased only 18%
+18%
Worker Wage Growth
Real wages barely moved in 46 years despite massive productivity gains
+1,460%
CEO Compensation
From 20x average worker pay to 400x average worker pay
+87%
Worker Productivity
Massive gains captured by shareholders, not workers
Sources & Methodology
Data compiled from: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics productivity and compensation data, Economic Policy Institute CEO compensation analysis, Joint Economic Committee corporate profit analysis, and Federal Reserve Economic Data. All figures inflation-adjusted to 2024 dollars. Baseline year 1978 = 100 for index comparison.