Raises won’t keep up with the cost of living in 2024

Published 3 Min Read

A young Black woman has her head down at her desk, looking exhausted.
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The last few years have been especially hard on Americans’ savings, with record inflation rates widening the gap between wages and cost of living — and it doesn’t look like most employees can expect raises to make up the difference.

While 74% of business leaders anticipate giving raises this year, half noted that pay increases will impact 50% or less of their workforce, according to a survey from Resume Builder. Of employers giving raises, 69% will offer cost-of-living bumps; 50% will offer a raise of 3% or less. And while inflation is expected to drop below 2.5% in 2024, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, a 3% raise will not make up for prices increasing by as much as 9% in 2022. 

Deanna Cuadra
Senior Reporter

Deanna Cuadra is a senior reporter at Employee Benefit News. Her work covers healthcare, U.S. policy and reform, challenges faced by women and parents in the workplace and innovation in work culture … Read full bio


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