Current:Home > MarketsAmericans may struggle for another five years as buying power shrinks more, report says-LoTradeCoin
Americans may struggle for another five years as buying power shrinks more, report says
View Date:2024-12-23 19:57:15
If you found it increasingly hard to make ends meet over the past five years, it’s probably only going to get worse, according to new research.
Over the past five years, 97% of occupation’s salaries have failed to keep up with inflation, said personal finance platform Moneywise, which analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Federal Housing Agency (FIFA) and Redfin to find out how salaries have kept up. It found average salaries have fallen 8.2% as home prices rose an average of 56%.
And it likely won’t get much better. Of the 20 most common jobs in America, only one – waitstaff - is expected to see an increase in salary after adjusting for inflation by 2028, it said.
“If things don't change soon, the pain and pressure of inflation, rising cost of living, and soaring housing costs will lead to a significant reduction in purchasing power for Americans in nearly every occupation and industry,” said MoneyWise research analyst Nick Rizzo.
Which jobs will lose the most purchasing power by 2028?
The top five occupations that will see their adjusted salaries shrink most, according to MoneyWise, are:
Protect your assets: Best high-yield savings accounts of 2023
Elementary school teachers:
- 2023 median salary: $64,290
- 5 year salary change adjusted for inflation: -11.59%
- 2028 projected salary: $56,504
Accountants:
- 2023 median salary: $79,880
- 5-year salary change adjusted for inflation: -10.51%
- 2028 projected salary: $71,485
Administrative assistants:
- 2023 median salary: $46,010
- 5-year salary change adjusted for inflation: -8.47%
- 2028 projected salary: $42,113
Registered nurses:
- 2023 median salary: $86,070
- 5-year salary change adjusted for inflation: -7.82%
- 2028 projected salary: $79,339
General maintenance workers:
- 2023 median salary: $46,700
- 5-year change adjusted for inflation: -7.55%
- 2028 projected salary: $43,174
What jobs will fare the best?
The five occupations MoneyWise expects to retain most of, or add to their purchasing power are:
Waitresses and waiters:
- 2023 median salary: $31,940
- 5-year salary change adjusted for inflation: +1.73%
- 2028 projected salary: $32,493
Food preparation workers:
- 2023 median salary: $32,420
- 5-year salary change adjusted for inflation: -0.36%
- 2028 projected salary: $32,303
Retail sales workers:
- 2023 median salary: $33,900
- 5-year salary change adjusted for inflation: -1.25%
- 2028 projected salary: $33,476
Cashiers:
- 2023 median salary: $29,720
- 5-year salary change adjusted for inflation: -1.48%
- 2028 projected salary: $29,280
Customer sales representatives:
- 2023 median salary: $39,680
- 5-year salary change adjusted for inflation: -3.23%
- 2028 projected salary: $38,398
How inflation affects our lives:The hidden price of inflation: High costs disrupt life in more ways than we can see
But isn’t inflation dropping?
Yes, inflation has been cooling for the past year, but that may not be enough to reverse the trend.
“If the economy does improve as a whole, then we will for sure start to see a slow reversal in this trend, but even if inflation were to come down, considering rising house prices, ongoing conflicts, stagnant salaries, and the boogeyman that is job loss due to AI (artificial intelligence), the deck seems stacked against the vast majority of Americans to ever get back to where they were anytime soon,” Rizzo said.
“And for some occupations and industries, it's possible they never do, considering the breakneck speed of development and evolution of AI continuing to be integrated directly into businesses, whether that's to assist employees or replace them,” he said.
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.
veryGood! (8)
Related
- The Army’s answer to a lack of recruits is a prep course to boost low scores. It’s working
- Aruba Considers Enshrining the ‘Rights of Nature’ in Its Constitution
- Global Warming Could Drive Pulses of Ice Sheet Retreat Reaching 2,000 Feet Per Day
- Some will starve, many may die, U.N. warns after Russia pulls out of grain deal
- Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger welcome their first son together
- Rural Communities Like East Palestine, Ohio, Are at Outsized Risk of Train Derailments and the Ensuing Fallout
- Lisa Marie Presley's Autopsy Reveals New Details on Her Bowel Obstruction After Weight Loss Surgery
- A Long-Sought Loss and Damage Deal Was Finalized at COP27. Now, the Hard Work Begins
- Satire publication The Onion acquires Alex Jones' Infowars at auction
- America’s Forests Are ‘Present and Vanishing at the Same Time’
Ranking
- Richard Allen found guilty in the murders of two teens in Delphi, Indiana. What now?
- Activists Slam Biden Administration for Reversing Climate and Equity Guidance on Highway Expansions
- Matt Damon Shares How Wife Luciana Helped Him Through Depression
- This Secret About Timothée Chalamet’s Willy Wonka Casting Proves He Had a Golden Ticket
- Japan to resume V-22 flights after inquiry finds pilot error caused accident
- German Leaders Promise That New Liquefied Gas Terminals Have a Green Future, but Clean Energy Experts Are Skeptical
- Destroying ‘Forever Chemicals’ is a Technological Race that Could Become a Multibillion-dollar Industry
- Carbon Removal Projects Leap Forward With New Offset Deal. Will They Actually Help the Climate?
Recommendation
-
NBC's hospital sitcom 'St. Denis Medical' might heal you with laughter: Review
-
Rural Communities Like East Palestine, Ohio, Are at Outsized Risk of Train Derailments and the Ensuing Fallout
-
Kourtney Kardashian's Son Mason Disick Seen on Family Outing in Rare Photo
-
UN Agency Provides Path to 80 Percent Reduction in Plastic Waste. Recycling Alone Won’t Cut It
-
Wall Street makes wagers on the likely winners and losers in a second Trump term
-
Proof Patrick and Brittany Mahomes' Daughter Sterling Is Already a Natural Athlete
-
Antarctic Researchers Report an Extraordinary Marine Heatwave That Could Threaten Antarctica’s Ice Shelves
-
How Willie Geist Celebrated His 300th Episode of Sunday TODAY With a Full Circle Moment