In April, Americans experienced a significant decline in real weekly earnings, which have now fallen well below their levels when President Joe Biden took office. Persistently high inflation, coupled with a decrease in average weekly hours worked, has eroded the purchasing power of American wages, creating financial stress for many households.
Key Points
- Real average weekly earnings fell to $1,191.93 in April, a 0.4% drop for the month and a 4.8% decline since January 2021.
- Prices have risen over 19% since Biden took office and 3.4% in the last year.
- Average weekly hours worked decreased from 34.9 in January 2021 to 34.2 in April 2024.
- Inflation measured 3.4% year-over-year in April, down from a peak of 9% in June 2022.
- GDP growth was 1.6% in Q1 2024, indicating an economic slowdown.
- The number of part-time workers due to poor business conditions increased by 161,000 in April.
- Americans’ savings declined to $671 billion in March, down from over $1 trillion the previous year.
- Credit card delinquencies over 90 days have risen substantially.
- Inflation remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, causing ongoing financial stress.
- President Biden’s economic policies are under scrutiny, with 49% of voters believing his policies have hurt the economy.
Sources:
alphanews.org/americans-are-getting-poorer-while-prices-keep-going-up/
Sice 2019, U.S. rents have grown 30.4%, while wages have grown 20.2%. Rents have outpaced wages in 44 of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, per Zillow.
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) May 17, 2024
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