Salary increases for many people aren’t keeping up with inflation rates, but some young workers are actually seeing their wages advance at an even faster pace than the cost of living.
Median hourly wages for workers age 16 to 24 increased 10.6% in January compared with a year ago, according to Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank data. That’s more than double the 4% overall gain for workers—and more than quadruple the increase people over 55 saw in the same time frame.
Young workers, of course, often see the biggest raises, since they start at lower levels. However, as the food service and retail industries struggle to find workers during the pandemic-era labor shortage, pay rates are going up considerably in those sectors, which are typically staffed by younger people.
People between the ages of 25 and 54 saw the second-biggest wage increases in the past year, with a 4.2% boost. People 55 and up saw their median wages increase only 2.5%.
Consumer prices, in that time, were up 7.5%, according to the Labor Department.
There are, in fact, fewer young workers than there were a decade ago, notes the Wall Street Journal. The number of 16- to 24-year-olds today is 3% smaller than it was in 2012. That means there are fewer looking for jobs, too, which has spurred companies to offer more incentives in addition to higher hourly wages.
On the whole, wage growth hasn’t been this robust since the early 2000s, notes the Atlanta Fed. Women’s raises are slightly above men’s in the past 12 months, and non-white workers are seeing slightly higher raises.
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