More American workers now say their wages aren’t keeping up with inflation.
According to a recent national survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports over telephone and online, 66% of American Adults who are employed full-time have reported that their income has not kept up with the rate of inflation in the past two years. Only 29% of respondents mentioned that their income has kept pace with inflation. This is a significant increase from the previous month’s survey where 55% of full-time workers had reported the same.
Fifty-one percent (51%) of full-time employed Americans say they have worked more hours or taken an extra job to help keep up with inflation, while 47% have not. These findings are unchanged from the October survey.
According to recent data, individuals with lower incomes have been the most affected by the current inflation. A significant percentage of people (58%) who earn less than $30,000 per year and 63% of workers making between $30,000 and $50,000 annually, have reported working extra hours or taking additional jobs in order to maintain their financial stability amidst rising prices. In comparison, only 38% of people earning between $100,000 and $200,000, and merely 19% of full-time workers earning over $200,000 a year, have reported working extra hours to cope with the inflation.
The survey of 1,019 American Adults was conducted February 8 and 11-12, 2024 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
