The fact that the average wage of Americans rose over 2020 is, despite what one might first believe, not a positive sign, according to a recent study, CNN reported. That is because the average reflects the loss of millions of low-wage jobs.

Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the average hourly wage for private sector employees in 2020 rose by 5.1 percent, or $1.45, to reach $29.96, compared to the 81 cent increase we saw in 2019. This, however, is not a cause for celebration, according to the study's authors at the Economics Policy Institute, as it is statistics, not growth, that have caused this average to rise. Specifically, because most of the jobs that were lost over the course of the pandemic were low-wage occupations, such as waiters or hotel maids, those that remain on the job generally made more money in the first place. This has served to skew the average in a way that obscures the real economic pain rippling through the country right now.

"Wages grew largely because more than 80 percent of the 9.6 million net jobs lost in 2020 were jobs held by wage earners in the bottom 25 percent of the wage distribution," said senior economist Elise Gould and her colleague, Jori Kandra, in their paper, published in late February.

While the number of job losses has been steadily decreasing since the start of the year, last week still saw 730,000 initial jobless claims, with the most recent data showing that 19 million people still relied on some form of unemployment benefit. Gould noted that, when jobs begin recovering, the average wage will likely reduce down to less skewed levels, though so far it is unknown when precisely this will happen in a material way.