You may have heard about the Labor Dep't statistics released today showing a little decline in the unemployment rate and a "smaller-than-expected" contraction in jobs. This has caused Drudge, typically, to flip shit and argue that the economy is rebounding. Now, this is obviously insane for a couple different reasons -- but I want to remind everybody that the real story is still wages:

Companies are cutting working hours, even as many avoid layoffs. Those working part time because of slack business or out of failure to find full-time work swelled from to 5.2 million in April from 4.9 million in March. In percentage terms, employees working part time involuntarily climbed to the highest level since 1995.

The average weekly pay for rank-and-file workers — about 80 percent of the American work force — fell $3.55 in April, to $602.56 in inflation-adjusted terms. This figure has been generally falling since the end of 2006. Gains in pay have been canceled out by the soaring costs of food and energy.

Awesome rebound!

UPDATE (6 PM): Mike Shedlock argues that the numbers are simply bogus.