U.S. wages fall, jobless rate rises

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.N. human rights chief said on Monday that the U.T.O. wage index for human resources workers has declined for the fourth straight month and the unemployment rate has risen for the second straight month.

The United States is the only industrialized nation with a lower index for hiring than for joblessness, the United Nations’ human rights office said in a statement.

The United States had a 6.3 percent unemployment rate last month and 4.1 percent jobless.

The U.K., with a 10.4 percent unemployment index, has the highest rate of joblessness among advanced economies, at 6.9 percent, according to the report.

The U,D.C., has the lowest unemployment rate at 4.6 percent, while Canada has the third lowest at 3.9%.

U.S.-based staffing and outsourcing company SWEs Human Resources Services said the report shows that a surge in jobless claims has led to a decline in the wages paid to HR staff.

The company said the trend is expected to continue, with a slight rise in wages, as the unemployment and underemployment rates are still elevated, but are in line with levels that have been seen in the past.

“While it is true that HR is the main source of income for many U.M. workers, the increase in claimant claims is the most significant cause of the decline in pay for HR staff, and therefore, HR should be paying its employees more,” SWES said in the statement.