Written by Sarah Foster – Edited by Chris Kahn
If it feels harder to get ahead right now, that’s because it is. Many Americans are navigating a “worst-of-both-worlds” economy: a cooling job market on one side and stubborn inflation on the other.
Prices aren’t rising as rapidly as they once were when the U.S. economy roared back after the coronavirus pandemic. Yet, the largest share of workers in four years (62 percent) say that their paychecks have not kept pace with increases in their household expenses due to inflation over the past 12 months, according to Bankrate’s annual Pay Raise Survey.
The trouble for workers is the cumulative toll of inflation. Slowing inflation isn’t the same as lower prices, and costs are still rising more quickly than they used to before the pandemic. In some cases, they’re even accelerating, as businesses start to pass on tariff-related expenses.
Workers also no longer have the cushion of a red-hot labor market to help them offset some of the damage. Less than 3 in 5 workers (57 percent) have received a pay increase over the past 12 months, the lowest share since polling began in 2022. Thirteen percent found a new, better-paying job, down from 26 percent in 2023. Meanwhile, more than 2 in 5 workers (43 percent) received no pay increase at all, a series high.
That’s a stark reversal from just four years ago, when job openings far outnumbered unemployed workers, giving employees historic bargaining power to lock in record pay increases.
Today, job growth is slowing, hiring has fallen to its lowest level since 2013 and there are more unemployed job seekers than openings. The result: Paychecks aren’t stretching as far and opportunities to earn more are fading.
How are workers feeling about their pay and careers? Bankrate has been polling Americans since the U.S. economy emerged from the pandemic through our Worker Intentions and Pay Raise surveys. This page brings all of that data together, featuring the latest results from our annual Pay Raise Survey.
More workers say their paychecks are losing ground to inflation
For years, official data has suggested that pay has finally been exceeding inflation. Wages have been rising faster than prices since May 2023, according to the Labor Department’s measure of workers’ average hourly earnings. Most recently, they’re up 3.7 percent from a year ago as of August, versus a 2.9 percent inflation rate for the month.
Many Americans, however, say they still aren’t feeling it. Bankrate’s latest Pay Raise Survey finds that more than 6 in 10 workers (62 percent) report their income has not kept up with inflation — the highest share in four years, up from 59 percent in 2024, 60 percent in 2023 and 55 percent in 2022.
At the same time, just 27 percent say their pay has kept pace or exceeded inflation, down from 32 percent in 2024, 29 percent in 2023 and 33 percent in 2022. Another 11 percent say they aren’t sure.
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This article originally appeared here and was republished with permission.
