Number Of U.S. Job Vacancies At 13 Year High

The seasonally adjusted number of job openings in June is 4.67 million, the highest value in more than 13 years.

 The jobs that had replaced the lost ones so haven't paid as much. Eric Pianin in The Fiscal Times.

Certain sectors have shown signs of pay hikes. Paul Davidson in USA Today.

Hiring has picked up, but where are those long-awaited wage hikes? Ylan Q. Mui in The Washington Post.

White House: State, local minimum-wage hikes to benefit 7 million workers. "Stymied by Congress on efforts to lift the federal minimum wage, Obama administration officials on Tuesday touted state and local pay-floor increases as having the potential to boost the broader economy. A new White House report found that by 2017, about 7 million workers will benefit....Since President Barack Obama first called on Congress to raise the federal pay floor in February 2013...13 states have enacted wage increases....Several cities have raised wages and Mr. Obama issued an executive order that would eventually lift the pay floor for federal contractors." Eric Morath in The Wall Street Journal.

Income gap between metropolitan areas hits widest on record. "The gap has narrowed and widened in past cycles, but the rebound from the most recent financial crisis has seen the ratio hit its most unequal since data collection began 45 years ago, fuelling policy makers’ concerns. US Commerce and Labor Department data for the 100 largest metropolitan areas by population, analysed for the Financial Times by property website Trulia, found the income disparity between the 10th most expensive region and the 90th by home prices in 2013 hit its widest since records began in 1969." Anjli Raval in The Financial Times.

ICYMI: Income inequality getting worse in more than 2 of 3 metro areas. Niraj Chokshi in The Washington Post.