Wages aren't keeping up with inflation, with some jobs falling further behind than others
Wages aren't keeping up with inflation, with some jobs falling further behind than others
Wages aren't keeping up with inflation, with some jobs falling further behind than others
Wages still haven't caught up with inflation, four years after the pandemic caused prices to soar and created a cost-of-living crisis for many households, a new study finds.
Americans on average are earning 1.2 percentage points below the rise in the cost of living over the past four years, which means that the typical worker's pay increases over that time haven't yet caught up to higher prices, according to Bankrate's 2025 Wage to Inflation Index.
The findings come as Americans remain sour about the economy, with 55% rating it as either very or fairly bad, according to a July poll from CBS News. Three-quarters said their incomes haven't kept up with inflation, while a majority also said they've seen prices creep higher in recent weeks and also expect that to continue.
We should start with the federal minimum wage, which hasn't changed since checks notes 2009.
And it was inadequate then
Because the split off of wages vs. productivity rise was 35+ years before that.