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The National Association of Manufacturers' (NAM) annual Labor Day report, released on Monday, shows that while manufacturing production increased at its fastest pace in six years and jobs on the factory floors have posted their strongest gains since 1998, soaring energy costs are hurting workers at the pump and in their paychecks.

"The report provides a snapshot of the U.S. economic performance over the past year," John Engler, president and CEO of NAM, told reporters at a press conference announcing this year's findings. "I think you are going to be struck by quite a few of the findings, including some good news for manufacturers and workers in manufacturing. The report also reveals and reaffirms a disturbing trend, one that has serious implications for American manufacturers and our workforce, as well as the American economy. That's the soaring cost of energy."

David Huether, NAM's chief economist agrees, saying, "Healthy productivity growth, combined with a tightening labor market, has continued to boost workers' real, inflation adjusted wages.

"But while workers' total compensation has continued to outpace inflation, wages have not. Surging energy prices have propelled inflation at a faster pace than workers' take-home pay and have resulted in declines in real wages for working Americans," Huether concludes.

Despite increases in real compensation, wages are not rising. Higher costs for benefits like health care are partially to blame, however surging energy prices are the main reason wages have not kept pace with inflation, according to the report. In fact, the overall consumer price of energy has increased by 80 percent during the current expansion, eating into worker paychecks and reducing real wages. Overall, real hourly wages have fallen 0.6 percent, while real wages among manufacturing workers are down 1.7 percent.

For more information about NAM's Labor Day Report, read the entire article, "Labor Day Report Shows Why Energy Reform Must Become National Policy", Click Here.

"Over the last 25 years, corporate America has debated whether the human resources function adds value or if it is just a necessary evil," said Dave Ketchen, co-author of a study on the impact of employee incentives and Lowder Eminent Scholar at Auburn University.

The results of the study, titled "How Much do High-Performance Work Practices Matter? A meta-analysis of their effects on organizational performance", are based on data from 19,319 organizations, and indicates that companies emphasizing human resource activities such as incentive pay and flextime, enjoy a 10 to 20 percent improvement in employee retention, employee productivity, profitability, and stock price. Further, companies who take a systematic approach to human resources, rather than implementing one or two select practices, experience stronger performance improvements. Companies that cut such programs, on the other hand, can expect to see a 10 to 20 percent reduction in the bottom line.

"A firm can't view training or team-building as a magic bullet that will deliver profits," Katchen said. "Executives need to adopt a strategic view of the human resource function and create sets of practices that reinforce each other."

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