Inflation is outpacing wages again. Many workers were already behind.

August 18, 2026 / 3:19 PM EDT / CBS News American workers' wages are once again failing to keep up with inflation — a painful financial déjà vu of the pandemic years. The repeat situation may feel even more acute given that many workers are still catching up from the 2021-2022 inflationary bout, when companies gave workers only moderate pay raises that fell short of four-decade high price increases, according to new economic research . From February 2021 to June 2022, real wages — or the purchasing power of the average American's paycheck — fell by more than 4%, according to the paper from the University of Chicago and ADP researchers. That hit proved lasting for many, with the analysis finding that 37% of workers whose payroll records researchers examined earned less in inflation-adjusted terms in December 2024 than they had four years earlier. Those losses were never made up, and now many Americans are re-experiencing a similar trend.

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