Bidenflation beats earnings: Real wages fall again

Despite workers receiving larger salaries in America, high inflation continues to drive down wages and rob them of their savings.

Real average hourly and weekly earnings for U.S. employees fell one percent from May to June, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

This result is due to an increase in hourly earnings of 0.31% and an inflation increase of 1.3%.

The real hourly average earnings have decreased by 3.6 percent compared to a year earlier. While earnings are increasing by 0.9 percent, inflation has driven up prices by 4.4 percent.

Despite big nominal wage gains, real earnings fell 1% in June as inflation soared. The paycheck isn’t as generous anymore. Workers have yet another reason for remote employment, thanks to the huge rise in gas prices.

— Julia Pollak (@juliaonjobs) July 13, 2022

The seasonally adjusted real hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers fell 1.1 percent between May and June. The result is due to a combined 0.5 percent increase in hourly earnings and a 1.5 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index For Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (the index that the government considers best represents the workers’ costs).

Over the past 12 months, real average hourly earnings fell 3.1 percent, seasonally adjusted. This was due to a decrease of 0.9 percent in average workweek earnings and a decrease in real hourly earnings. The result was a decrease of 3.9 percent in average weekly real earnings.

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