Inflation rises 7% annually, Real Wages Decline YoY

American’s are experiencing the highest inflation rate since 1982 as the cost of goods has sky rocketed. #BidenInflation is one of the top trending hashtags on Twitter and due to the high inflation rate real wages have decreased over the last year.

Rising prices have wiped out pay increases that many Americans have received, making it harder for households, especially lower-income families, to afford basic expenses. Used car costs rose 3.5% from November to December and have soared more than 37% compared with a year ago. Inflation has started displacing even the coronavirus as the top public concern, making clear the political threat it poses to President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats.

The consumer price index increased 7%, according to the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a monthly basis, the consumer price index rose 0.5%.

Production and nonsupervisory employees

Real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees increased 0.2 percent from 
November to December, seasonally adjusted. This result stems from a 0.7-percent increase in average 
hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.5 percent in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage 
Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

Real average weekly earnings increased 0.5 percent over the month due to the change in real average 
hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.3 percent in average weekly hours.

From December 2020 to December 2021, real average hourly earnings decreased 1.9 percent, seasonally 
adjusted. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with no change in the average workweek 
resulted in a 2.0-percent decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period.