Most workers haven’t seen a pay raise in 12 months: Survey

As the prices of gas, groceries, and everyday objects continue to soar, the majority of the U.S. workforce has not seen an increase in take-home income for over a year.

A new study from Bankrate.com finds that 56% of Americans either haven’t received a raise or found a better-paying job in the past 12 months. That’s a 6% increase over the 2019 study. Nearly the same number—52%—say they’re earning exactly as much today as they were before the pandemic.

The stagnation in worker pay comes at a critical juncture for both employers and employees. Companies are struggling to fill job openings, with some 10.4 million positions available in August. Workers, meanwhile, are finding it harder to make ends meet as prices on everyday objects increase at a breathtaking pace. Gas prices are up 42% from a year ago. Bacon costs 19.3% more. And natural-gas prices are up nearly 21%.

Some 24% of the people surveyed by Bankrate said they had received a pay raise in the past year, while 16% said they found a better-paying job. That combined total is down 10 points from the 2019 poll.

As for who’s getting raises, it’s generally not the people on the lower rungs of the ladder. Bankrate found that the more money workers make, the more likely they were to see a pay raise. Among people making over $75,000 per year, 39% said they received a pay bump in the past year compared to just 9% of people making less than $30,000.

Most of the raises that were given were performance-based, followed closely by cost-of-living and promotion.

The cost-of-living increases likely weren’t enough to keep up with inflation, though. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that to keep up with the current rate of inflation, a worker making $100,000 in January would need to be making an extra $4,866 by September.

The Conference Board notes that typical raises, for those who do receive them, are well below that rate.