not getting into specifics (because i'm not an expert), but these conversations usually lack any discussion of individual vs. group. e.g., the 10th decile of wages may stay the same, but the people who were in the 10th decile 30 years ago are not the people in the 10th decile now. i think it's safe to say that many people (not all) start and end their careers at very different quantiles in the distribution.

edited: "most people" may have been too strong.