American Wages Continue To Lag Inflation, Data Shows — Some Jobs Feel The Pinch More Than Others

Four years after pandemic-era price spikes, wages still haven't fully caught up. Bankrate's 2025 Wage to Inflation Index shows pay gains trail cumulative inflation by 1.2 percentage points since January 2021, highlighting why many households remain squeezed.

Wage Growth Lags Behind Inflation, Shows Fresh Study

On average, wages are up 21.5% while prices climbed 22.7% over that span, Bankrate says, noting the gap has narrowed from 2022 but remains as hiring cools.

Notably, some professions are falling further behind than others. Bankrate's breakdown shows the widest gaps in education (–4.8 percentage points), construction (–3.6), financial activities (–3.4), professional and business services (–2.8) and manufacturing (–2.5).

Separate research by the Economic Policy Institute and the Center for Economic and Policy Research from September 2024 finds teachers already face a steep "wage penalty" versus similarly educated workers.

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What Does Wage Growth Reveal About The Labor Market?

Bankrate analyst Sarah Foster told CBS MoneyWatch, "Wage growth is often a reflection of who has the power in the labor market. If there are more job openings than workers to fill them, businesses will often lift pay to retain or attract talent."

She added, "On the flip side, if there are too few job openings, companies don't have to work as hard to keep workers because they have nowhere to really go." Foster also warned, "Wages not keeping up with inflation translate to outright purchasing-power destruction."

Not All Wage Data Is Doom And Gloom

There are some bright spots, notes Bankrate. Since 2021, wages have outpaced prices in leisure and hospitality, food services and accommodation, health care and retail, reflecting post-pandemic demand. Over the past year, real average hourly earnings rose about 1.2%–1.3% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, offering modest relief.

Other gauges echo the strain. Wage satisfaction hit a series low in the New York Fed's labor-market survey, while consumer sentiment slid in August as inflation worries returned.

The findings help explain why frustration lingers even as headline inflation cools. For many, the math still doesn't add up, highlighting why Americans feel less financially secure and struggle to save for emergencies amid elevated prices.

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