Only 17% US workers say their pay has risen with inflation

Wages are rising at a fast pace for American workers, but prices are rising even faster. According to a survey conducted by Momentive for The New York Times, only 17% of workers said that they have received raises that kept up with inflation over the last year. Most of the rest say that they received wages that lagged price increases or that they have received no raise at all. 8% of survey respondents said that they had taken a pay cut. 

Around 9 in 10 Americans said that they are at least "somewhat concerned" about inflation and 6 in 10 are very concerned. This worry about inflation crosses generational, racial and even partisan lines: 95 percent of Republicans, 88 percent of independents and 82 percent of Democrats say they are concerned. Government data meanwhile shows that wage gains are outpacing inflation, especially in the service sector, where the competition for workers has driven rapid increases in pay.

But in the aggregate, prices have risen faster than the pay in recent months. In November, the Consumer Price Index rose to a four-decade high of 6.8% while average hourly earnings rose 4.8%. Other measures also likewise show pay gains lagging price increases. 

Source: The New York Times