from PYMNTS
Since the start of the pandemic, PYMNTS Intelligence has tracked the real impact of inflation, as real wages, adjusted for price increases, have failed to keep pace with sticker shock.
Coming into 2024, PYMNTS found that 85% of consumers said increases in their paychecks had not matched the pace of higher pricing. Eighty-two percent of respondents said concerns about inflation topped their lists of economic woes, and only 17% held out any hope that inflation would subside anytime soon. About 4 in 10 consumers said they anticipated a wage increase this year, down from 43% who expected a raise in 2023.
In the meantime, inflation is cooling a bit, at least as measured in the latest reading for May, at 3.3% annualized.
Any relief in the paycheck-to-paycheck economy may prove short-lived, however.