Yahoo Finance
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If you're feeling squeezed trying to afford life's necessities, you're not alone.
Asinflation soars, wages struggle to keep up.
The result: higher-priced necessities such as food, housing, transportation, and utilities — and less income to afford it all.
In recent months, inflation has accelerated as rising energy costs tied to the Iran conflict pressure the U.S.
So what do the numbers say — have wages managed to keep up with inflation? And regardless of the data, how can you stretch your dollars further when your cost of living increases? Until recently, wages were keeping pace with inflation.
In the 12 months from March 2025 to March 2026, for example, wages actually outpaced inflation.
However, things have shifted over the past couple of months.
In May, average hourly earnings rose 3.4% year over year — but consumer prices rose 4.2%, marking the second straight month thatwage growth fell behind inflation.
TheFederal Reserveaims to keep inflation at a rate of 2%.
But post-pandemic, supply chain disruptions and changing demand, among other factors, led to a rapid rise in inflation.
One inflation measure — theConsumer Price Index(CPI) — rose to more than 9% over 12 months ending in June 2022.
| Product | Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Crude | $102.14/bbl | +0.34% |
| WTI Crude | $96.90/bbl | +0.21% |
| EN590 Diesel | $846/MT | +0.18% |
| Jet Fuel A-1 | $1090/MT | +0.55% |
| Mazut M100 | $450/MT | -0.15% |
| Bitumen 60/70 | $470/MT | +0.08% |
| Sulphur Gran 99.5% | $470/MT | -0.44% |
| Urea 46% Gran | $650/MT | +1.12% |
| NPK 16-16-16 | $460/MT | -0.28% |
| Nat Gas TTF | $15.42/MMBtu | +0.92% |
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