Despite the red-hot labor market in the United States, workers are not coming out ahead.
The reason?
Inflation is still sizzling, running north of 8%.
And this is weighing on employees’ wages.
After this week’s hotter-than-expected consumer price index (CPI), the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released this statement (emphasis ours):
“Real average hourly earnings decreased 3.0 percent, seasonally adjusted, from September 2021 to September 2022. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 0.9 percent in the average workweek resulted in a 3.8-percent decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period.”
In other words, the U.S. has endured 18 consecutive months of negative real wage growth. This is certainly one of the worst performances in the domestic labor market in history.
Multiple surveys of American workers have revealed the same thing: their paychecks and pay raises are not keeping up with the skyrocketing cost of living.
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