Latest / Wages and Prices with Fexingo: Cost of Living, Pay Raises, and Workers' Purchasing Power
Where Your Raise Goes Before You Feel It
Episode 15 of Wages and Prices with Fexingo examines the gap between nominal wage growth and workers' purchasing power in 2026. Lucas and Luna break down the latest data — average hourly earnings at $37.40, CPI at 332.4 — and explain how rising payroll taxes, health insurance premiums, and student loan payments are absorbing raises before they hit workers' wallets. They discuss why the typical worker's take-home pay has grown only 1.8% in real terms over the past year despite the strongest labor market in decades. The hosts also explore policy proposals like expanding the…
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