The average household’s buying power has slipped by about 0.1%, when the latest CPI report is compared to last week’s jobs numbers. In layman’s terms, Americans took a pay cut over the last year. But economists aren’t so clear on what comes next. In this episode, we’re on the inflation-outpacing-wages beat. Plus: Drivers brace for continued high gas prices, fractional homeownership startups present tradeoffs in this squeezed housing market, and we break down some lesser-known economic indicators. Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter. Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future. Read the stories from this episode: Inflation has slowed, but wage growth hasn&#x27;t caught up Refined oil prices face more pressure than crude, and consumers will pay the price To understand how war impacts financial markets, look to the past What you should know about fractional homeownership

Steep inflation, meet slow wage growth

Marketplace

[SPEAKER_A] This podcast is supported by Raymond James, a financial firm offering wealth management, banking, and capital markets services that are inspired by people. Before Raymond James financial advisors build plans, they build relationships so they can craft individual strategies designed to achieve priorities and pursue what's possible. That's the power of personal. Disclosures at raymondjames.com. Raymond James Associates, Inc., member NYSE, SIPC.

[SPEAKER_B] On the program today, data and history. Doesn't get any better than that, now does it? From American Public Media, this is Marketplace. In Los Angeles, I'm Kai Ryssdal. It is Wednesday today. This one is the 12th of August. Good as it always is to have you along, everybody. We have arrived at the point in this week where we have some data to chew on. And in a lot of ways, the news from this morning was pretty good. Inflation, of course, is the data du jour. Year on year, the headline consumer price index rose 3.4%. Core, that is less food and energy, as you know, up 2.5%. Both, yes, higher than the Federal Reserve want them to be, but also both a slight slowdown from last month's reading, which is good. What is not good is that when you stack today's inflation report up against the most recent wage data we've got, you notice pretty quickly that prices have been going up faster than pay has been going up over the past year. Real wages is the phrase you're looking for. And as Marketplace's Kaylie Wells reports to get us going, them not keeping up is not great.

[SPEAKER_C] The reactions from analysts are kind of all over the place today. In one faction, things could be worse, says Connell Fullenkamp. He's an economics professor at Duke University.

Steep inflation, meet slow wage growth

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Steep inflation, meet slow wage growth

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.