With a typical Thanksgiving meal expected to cost about 10% more this year, many families are greeting the holidays with more stress than cheer. One major reason is that income growth simply is not keeping up with the rising cost of living. The JPMorgan Chase Institute found that median income growth for people aged 25 to 54 was only 1.6% in October, after adjusting for inflation. That is like the slow recovery after the Great Recession, even though today’s unemployment rate is only 4.4%.
Many workers feel stuck. Younger workers are not getting the usual early career pay boosts from job changes or promotions. And about half of workers aged 50 to 54 have actually lost earnings once inflation is taken into account. When pay increases are small and prices remain high, it is hard for families to feel joyful heading into the holiday season.
