*By Michael Teich*
Corporate shareholders may [benefit](https://money.cnn.com/2018/02/16/investing/stock-buybacks-tax-law-bonuses/index.html) from tax cuts, but American workers aren't really profiting, said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate.
"It's globalization, the ability of employers to [replace labor](https://cheddar.com/videos/selerity-exec-a-i-in-finance-will-shift-from-consumers-to-workers) with technology," Hamrick said Friday in an interview with Cheddar. "Workers are not getting the bulk of these tax cuts. Workers have perhaps some appropriate reason to be a bit disappointed."
The Labor Department reported Friday that the unemployment rate in the U.S. dropped to 3.9 percent. But as unemployment falls, inflation is rising, and companies are squeamish about tariffs.
"Inflation has been running at an annual rate of about 2 percent, meaning that real wages are making little progress," Hamrick said.
Though average hourly earnings rose 2.7 percent for the second straight month, when inflation's factored in, workers are taking home less than a percent more in earnings.
Now is the time, Hamrick said, to save for retirement and emergencies.
The U.S. economy added 157,000 jobs in July, missing estimates of 193,000 but marking the 94th consecutive month of growth.
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-reason-youre-not-getting-a-raise).
Prices for airfare seem to be cooling off. The latest consumer price index showed prices dropped 8.1 percent in June from a month earlier, which is the biggest decline in a year.
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Alexander Mashinsky, the former CEO of the failed cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network, has been arrested on federal fraud charges, including wire fraud, according to CNBC.
Delta Air Lines reported its highest earnings and revenue and raised its profit outlook.
Producer price index rose just 0.1% from a year ago, in the latest signal that inflation is slowing.
Wall Street is adding to its winning week Thursday following the latest signal that inflation is continuing to ease its chokehold on the economy.
Whenever the United Auto Workers union begins negotiating a new contract with Detroit's three automakers, threats of a strike are typically heard on the floor of the old Chrysler transmission plant in Kokomo, Indiana.
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U.S. officials have approved the first over-the-counter birth control pill, which will let American women and girls buy contraceptive medication from the same aisle as aspirin and eyedrops.
Bob Iger will remain as CEO of The Walt Disney Co. through the end of 2026, agreeing to a two-year contract extension that will give the entertainment and theme park company some breathing room to find his successor.
