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How economic inequality has and hasn't changed since the pandemic

Nov 18, 2024
From 2019 to 2022, total U.S. household wealth grew 25%., but there's lots of evidence that Americans are disenchanted with this economy.
Post-pandemic wealth inequality hasn't been what Wall Street expected.
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Wage growth is slowing, but it's still staying ahead of inflation

Oct 30, 2024
The job market is still tilted in workers' favor.
It's still a worker's job market, says Nicole Smith with Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce. That's because job openings outnumber people looking for work.
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How inflation is impacting the way we eat, when we go to restaurants and how we tip

In its latest report on restaurants, Toast finds a shift toward restaurant spending in the mornings, away from lunch and dinner.
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Real earnings outpace inflation, helping consumers offset price growth

Jul 11, 2024
Raises in real earnings help offset price increases but not all consumers share the benefits equally.
Even though real earnings have recently outpaced inflation, consumer sentiment is still pretty glum.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

When assessing inflation, it's not just the data, it's also the narrative

May 17, 2024
The CBO data show purchasing power rising across all income groups, but the numbers reflect averages, and individuals' experiences vary.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, purchasing power went up across all income groups because incomes grew faster than prices between 2019 and 2023.
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Consumers don't expect their incomes to grow as fast as prices

May 13, 2024
Consumers forecast inflation at 3.3% this time next year and are less confident that their earnings will rise as much as they had expected.
Consumers expect to spend more on the need-to-haves, like housing and food. Discretionary want-to-haves in their budgets may be squeezed.
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Workers used to earn about two-thirds of the income their labor generates. Now, it's just over half.

Apr 12, 2024
The stat, called labor share of national income, is being squeezed by globalization, declining union membership and automation.
Even though workers' slice of the pie is shrinking, the U.S. economy is growing, so they're getting a smaller slice of a bigger pie.
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For public good, not for profit.

Should the U.S. raise the retirement age?

Mar 26, 2024
Larry Fink, head of the largest money manager in the world, suggested in an investor letter that the retirement age should be higher because of longer life expectancies. But is that realistic?
Larry Fink, the head of BlackRock — the largest money lender in the world — suggested in an investor letter Monday that we should maybe consider pushing up the retirement age.
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What do falling inflation and rising incomes mean for consumer spending?

Feb 29, 2024
The January PCE report showed inflation easing further but still significant. Moderation in spending could also continue, analysts say.
Wage growth was resilient in January, but Social Security and other factors added to income gains.
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With prices falling and incomes rising, consumers get a break in time for Christmas

Dec 22, 2023
The PCE report for November shows that prices fell slightly and disposable personal income rose, along with the savings rate.
Consumers have been sullen about the economy despite the improvement in inflation, but that might be changing.
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