These workers are the only ones really seeing higher wages
CNN
Lots of workers are getting raises, but for many, the pay hikes won't buy them more at the grocery store or car dealership. In fact, wages are behind where they were when the pandemic began, if you take rising prices into account.
Inflation-adjusted wages, which have been falling steadily since mid-2020, are 1.2% below where they were in December 2019, according to an analysis of Employment Cost Index quarterly data by Jason Furman, an economics professor at Harvard University. The index measures wages and salaries, along with health, retirement and other benefits.
Over the last year, inflation-adjusted wages dropped 2.4%.
Millions of Americans have taken to the skies, hit the road, fired up the barbecue grill and jumped into the pool this weekend to celebrate the start of summer 2024. Analysts are expecting the Memorial Day weekend to usher in yet another summer of strong consumer spending on travel and other leisure activities.