Some employees have seen their salaries outpace inflation

In recent years, many workers’ wages have rapidly grown. But so has inflation.

A new report from Clarify Capital analyzed wage growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics in comparison to inflation rates and found that although wages have grown, they haven’t kept up with inflation.

Using data from 2010 through 2021, the analysis found that the average salary grew 31%, but at the same time, lost an average of 4.5% of its value.

When calculated with 2022’s inflation rate, the average salary fell from $61,016 to $58,260 from 2010 to last year, according to the report.

JOBS WITH THE BIGGEST SALARY INCREASES

Airline pilots: Pilot salaries grew 71.9% to an average $198,190 annually.

Dancers: Dancer salaries increased 48% to an average of $50,939 annually.

Software developers: Developer salaries jumped 46.4% to an average of $120,990 annually.

Farmers: Farmers saw a 44.3% salary increase to an average of $31,795 annually.

Bartenders: Bartender wages grew 42.4% to an average annual salary of $30,340.

AAAAAINFLATION IS DEVALUING SALARIES

Despite lofty salary increases though, most occupations saw the value of their salaries decrease due to inflationary pressure, the analysis showed.

Some jobs saw value increases — like airline pilots who saw a 25.1% increase in value or dancers who saw a 7.7% increase. Other jobs struggled to keep up with rising prices although their annual salaries grew.

These occupations saw the biggest decrease in value in the 10-year period from 2010-21 when adjusted for 2022’s inflation rate:

Dentists saw a 23.4% decrease in their salary, which fell from $218,138 to $167,160.

Actors saw a 19.9% decrease in their salary, which fell from $218,138 to $167,160.

Architects saw a 17.1% decrease in their salary, which fell from $218,138 to $167,160.

Lawyers saw a 16.8% decrease in their salary, which fell from $218,138 to $167,160.

Pharmacists saw a 16.4% decrease in their salary, which fell from $150,280 to $125,690.

Other notable occupations that saw the value of their salary decrease include nurses and delivery drivers, both of whom have played a significant role during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nurses saw their salaries lose 11.1% of their value, falling from $93,042 to $82,750 annually, according to the BLS’ data. Delivery-driver salaries lost 15.5% of their value, dropping from $44,158 to $37,300 annually.

AAAAAWAGE GROWTH CAN’T KEEP UP WITH INFLATION — IS THAT A BAD THING?

Wage growth skyrocketed early in the pandemic, peaking in April 2020 at 8.1% for nonfarm employees and 7.8% for production/nonsupervisory workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

As of January 2023, wage growth had fallen to 4.4% for nonfarm workers and 5.1% for production and nonsupervisory workers.

Despite higher paychecks, wages still struggled to keep up with inflation.

Wage growth in the U.S. has been consistent with an inflation rate of about 4.5%, according to CNBC. Meanwhile, inflation actually grew 6.4% in the 12-month period that ended in January 2023, BLS data showed.

But some experts see slowing wage growth as a good sign as the Federal Reserve continues its campaign to slow inflation.

“Employers can afford about 1% nominal wage growth without raising prices because of increased worker productivity, so if everyone on average is getting a 6% raise, employers are probably going to be raising prices by about 5% a year,” Jason Furman, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), told McClatchy News in July..

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2023

Some experts argue that workers should expect wage growth to outpace inflation this year.

The latest Survey of Professional Forecasters shared by the Philadelphia Fed suggests that inflation will see a significant slowdown in 2023. Forecasters projected that the personal consumption expenditure index — which measures the prices that people in the United States pay for goods and services — will average 2.8%, just under a point higher than the Fed’s goal of 2%.

Data analysis from the PIIE shows that as inflation slows throughout 2023, wage growth should also drop, but at a slower rate. By February or March, wages are expected to outpace inflation, according to this analysis.

Moira Ritter: ritter_moira