American workers are finding their take-home pay isn’t keeping up with inflation, with their wallets ‘stretched thinner and thinner’

American workers are finding their take-home pay isn’t keeping up with inflation, with their wallets ‘stretched thinner and thinner’ American workers are finding their take-home pay isn’t keeping up with inflation, with their wallets ‘stretched thinner and thinner’ Worker compensation grows slower than inflation for second straight quarter Workers’ wages and salaries fell 0.6% over the past year ending in September, according to new data. American workers are being slammed by higher prices, with new data from the Labor Department showing wages rose at the slowest pace in over five years during the third quarter. Before adjusting for inflation, wages grew at a 3.1% pace over the past year ending in September, the smallest increase since the first quarter of 2021.

That’s down from the 3.6% growth rate in the same quarter last year. Copyright ©2026 MarketWatch, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8 Bitcoin slides after crypto’s nightmare scenario: a historic $6.3 billion heist After Intel’s historic stock drop, analysts say there’s no reason to buy the dip Private equity in your 401(k)?

Heed Warren Buffett’s warning. Greg Robb is a senior reporter for MarketWatch in Washington. Follow him on Twitter @grobb2000.

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