From Boom to Bust: How the Cooling Job Market Is Stalling Wage Recovery

Four years after pandemic-era inflation began surging, American workers’ wages still haven’t fully caught up to price increases.

According to Bankrate’s Wage To Inflation Index, the gap stands at -1.2 percentage points, with prices rising 22.7% since early 2021 while wages grew only 21.5%.

Though the gap has narrowed from its peak of -4.8 percentage points in 2022, a slowing job market is hampering progress. If current trends continue, workers’ paychecks won’t fully recover their purchasing power until the third quarter of 2026.