has topped 10 million for 15 consecutive months; before the pandemic began in February 2020, the highest on record was 7.7 million.
Switching jobs has been a windfall for many workers over the past year, with employees seeing an average 6.7% annual wage growth rate – a marked increase from the 4.9% of workers who do not switch jobs, Despite the wage increases – and the possibility of a record-high hike next year – headline inflation is still wiping out the majority of Americans' paychecks. The Labor Department reported that average hourly earnings for all employees actually declined by 2.
By that measure, the typical U.S. worker is actually worse off today than a year ago, even though nominal wages are rising at the fastest pace in years. Scorching-hot inflation, which climbed 7.7% in October, has created severe financial pressures for most U.S. households, which are forced to pay more for everyday necessities like food and rent. The burden is disproportionately borne by low-income Americans, whose already-stretched paychecks are heavily impacted by price increases.
Barley keeping up with inflation is not good news.🤪