Americans’ growing paychecks finally surpassed inflation for the first time in two years in the second quarter, growing my 4% when inflation increased only 3 percent.
While the uptick in wages offered some financial relief to workers, it complicated the Federal Reserve’s efforts to tame price increases.
According to the Labor Department, inflation-adjusted average hourly wages rose 1.2% in June from a year earlier.
That marked the second straight month of seasonally adjusted gains after two years during which workers’ historically elevated raises were erased by price increases.
