Even ignoring the COVID-19 pandemic's major effects on the composition of the workforce, wages have grown more quickly than prices since January 2021

Cumulative increase in average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees and prices, February 2020–September 2024

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Increase relative to pre-COVID-19 pandemic   Increase relative to January 2021  

Source: Authors' calculations using data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)" (last accessed October 2024); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees, total private, seasonally adjusted" (last accessed October 2024). Chart: Center for American Progress