wage growth

Hiring in the services sector, on the other hand, isn’t quite as hot.

The net result is that the average American household’s buying power has dwindled by 0.1% over the past year.

The rise in oil prices and other commodities is helping to drive inflation up, with price increases outpacing wage gains.

“The K-shaped economy is over,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared on CNBC last week. Economists say the evidence is mixed at best.

Younger workers have different views of — and less experience in — the labor market than older workers.

Wages are growing, but not as quickly as they were at this time last year, according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s hard to get a raise when people aren’t changing jobs.

When the price of housing is high, moving out of a family home or other group living situation to live on one’s own is less attractive.

With the consumer price index running at 3.8% — and expected to rise further when new data drops Wednesday — purchasing power is eroding.

In the April jobs report, inflation outstripped wage growth for the first time in three years. When the May jobs report comes out on Friday, we'll find out if that's a trend.

According to fresh data from Indeed’s Hiring Lab, hourly wages went up 1.7% in the past year. And salaried wages went up 2.9%. Neither is keeping pace with inflation.