2021: While those paychecks were 4.1% larger in November than they were in January, they will buy 2.8% less due to rising prices. Those rank-and-file workers h

2021: While those paychecks were 4.1% larger in November than they were in January, they will buy 2.8% less due to rising prices. Those rank-and-file workers have suffered less than their bosses. For all private sector workers, including managers and executives, weekly earnings averaged 3.1% more but could buy 3.0% less. 2022: With an overall increase of 4.7%. But with inflation at 7%, the average person lost ground in terms of real income. This was particularly true for the middle half of earners who saw a median wage increase of only about 2.5%. The picture was a bit better for low-wage earners, but not enough to shift the broader pattern for 2021: Inflation outpaced wage increases. 2023: Inflation roared back to the highest level in over 40 years, then slowed markedly. In all, consumer prices are up nearly 15.7%. Gasoline is up 51.2%. Raw wages, unadjusted for inflation, have risen every quarter of Biden’s presidency, and generally at higher rates than wages rose under his predecessor, Donald Trump. But once you adjust for inflation, many of these gains disappear. Real wages — that is, inflation-adjusted wages — fell or were unchanged during the first six quarters of Biden’s presidency.