*By Michael Teich*
Wage growth in the U.S. hit a nine-year high in August, and that may be partly thanks to innovations in tech, said a founder and CEO of blue-collar employment platform Merlin.
"Technology is by nature inflationary," Güimar Vaca Sittic said in an interview with Cheddar Friday.
Average hourly pay in August jumped 10 cents to $27.16, up 2.9 percent from last year, according to the latest employment report. August also marked the 95th straight month of job growth in the U.S. The availability of online social networking tools, combined with new opportunities created by emerging technologies, allows workers to demand higher salaries, Vaca Sittic said.
"High-tech companies are building new services and are contributing to the rise in wages. But you also have companies like ours that focus on matching hourly workers with employers," he said.
While industry giant LinkedIn focuses on white-collar jobs (banking and marketing, for example) Merlin caters to those in careers like construction and restaurant servers. The company operates with the belief that this class of workers is under-served by job sites. Construction companies added 23,000 jobs in August, and employment in the industry has grown by 297,000 over the past year, according to the [Bureau of Labor Statistics](https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Construction-struggles-to-find-workers-23-000-13212366.php).
"Two-thirds of the U.S. workforce are working in our categories, and we don't see that going anywhere," fellow co-founder and co-CEO Borja Moreno de los Rios told Cheddar Friday.
Merlin launched in the New York City area last month.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/technologys-impact-on-wage-growth).
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
