A Decent Hourly Wage For Desktop Publishing

A few years back the median hourly wage for desktop publishing and graphic design jobs hovered in the area of $13.00 to $19.00 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of course it varied by state/region and typically design jobs paid a bit more than the more technical desktop publishing jobs (as defined by the bureau). But has the value of what we do dropped drastically or is this forum member's experience an anomaly? -- "I still have a good portfolio of work, even if most of it is 9-10 years old. I had an interview today. They told me the work was fine... they told me the $15 wage I was looking for was out of touch. They were thinking more like $10!!!??? I have no idea... what happened? Has this vocation lost all it's value?" In your experience, what is a typical salary or hourly wage these days for design and typesetting?