PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — More than half of working Americans are making more money now than this time last year, yet many say their wages are falling behind the pace of inflation.
Three in five Americans surveyed by personal finance website Bankrate say they were given a raise by their employer or they found a better-paying job during the last 12 months.
“In a cooler labor market, you would probably expect that number to be a little lower,” said Sarah Foster, Bankrate’s Federal Reserve reporter.
“What I think that shows is, although workers don’t have as much bargaining power as they did in the years immediately after the pandemic, they still at least have some level of an upper hand here that can hopefully help them continue to recover from inflation.”
Foster says the post-pandemic hiring boom has lost steam, with 20% of workers landing a higher-paying job in the last 12 months, compared to 26% in 2023. “Now, as the job market has become a little bit more competitive, job switchers and job stayers are getting roughly the same pay increases as each other,” she said.
The survey also finds hiring is down across all generations, with millennials and Generation Z having more success at finding better jobs than Generation X and baby boomers.
“That might have something to do with just how early they are in their careers,” said Foster. “They haven’t hit that peak earning stage yet. So a lot of them are still job-hopping. They’re still prioritizing their career growth.”
For those who plan to ask for raises, Foster advises against using inflation as a reason. Instead, she suggests employees explain to their managers what makes them valuable.