The Today Show on NBC aired a report Friday that highlights double digit inflation for lunch items that workers are confronting as they return to their offices as the pandemic wanes. To make matters even worse, the report notes that making lunch at home is also more expensive with an inflation rate of nearly ten percent. Either way the report adds, wages are not keeping up with inflation so workers are falling further behind. One woman interviewed said she has resorted to eating toast for lunch or dinner.
Wraps are up 18 percent, sandwiches up 14 percent, tacos up 12 percent, salads up 11 percent and burgers up 8 percent. Groceries are up 8.6 percent.
Two different reports were aired:
Excerpt from Vox’s Recode this month on wages not keeping up with inflation.
You got a raise last year or switched jobs to get one. Congratulations! You’re one of the many Americans who saw their paychecks get bigger. Unfortunately, unless your wages or salary grew much higher than the national average of 4.5 percent last year, inflation likely canceled it out. That means that while you might be making more money, you can buy less stuff with it.
That’s bad news for you, but it’s also probably bad news for your boss. Employers are struggling to retain and attract workers amid the Great Resignation, a broad term to describe the past couple of years, when workers have been quick to leave for better pay or greener pastures. If inflation continues apace, we could be trapped in a cycle of rising wages only to see those gains wiped out by inflation. If inflation calms down, as economists expect, the situation could lead to much-needed real wage gains for American workers.
For now, inflation is again at a 40-year high, with prices on average 7.9 percent higher than they were a year ago. That figure takes into account a whole basket of goods and services, so it will affect people differently based on what they purchase, but as a whole, price increases outpaced typical wage growth. Price hikes were especially high for things like fuel, food, and rent and grew even faster than that average. Inflation is only expected to get worse as gas prices rise significantly due to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Joe Biden said Thursday in Europe to expect food shortages.