Yup, and most of the prices have largely come back down, at least in my area, and lower wages have jumped (nearly double since 2019). Rent has doubled and used cars are still very lopsided, but on the whole, the average person in my area should be in a similar position vs 2019.
This obviously varies a lot by area. Electricity, for example, has stayed pretty flat, whereas in the article it says it has increased by ~50% in California. So articles like these don’t make a ton of sense to me, they don’t state where those numbers come from, and they definitely don’t look per state to see if it’s really representative of the average person.
Your grocery prices have gone back down?? I’m not seeing that in my area. Groceries, eating out, and services are all still way up! Plus you say rent doubled like that’s no big deal. We’ve cut all luxeries ( I am counting preferred groceries and cleaning products as luxeries, anything above that is long since cut). It feels financially irresponsible to buy a friend a birthday gift. We are nowhere close to where we were in 2019.
Yeah, pretty much, at least for the things I buy. Eating out hasn’t gone down (but delivery pizza has stayed pretty flat, go figure), but groceries are something like 15% higher than pre-COVID prices, which is pretty typical for inflation over 4 years (down from like 30% or something). Price increases for eating out seems to have hit fast food the hardest, though we don’t eat fast food all that often anyway. I can still get a decent meal for ~$10 in my area at counter-service casual dining places, and prices for that are basically the same since pre-COVID, without noticeable changes in portions. Table service places are a bit more expensive, and I chalk that up to increased labor prices, which have nearly doubled since the start of COVID (starting wages were ~$7.50, now it’s $12-15).
you say rent doubled like that’s no big deal
Well, it doesn’t impact me, so it’s not something I personally had to deal with. I bought a place a few years before COVID, so my housing prices have been stable.
But it does impact my coworkers, and since I’m in a management position that’s involved in hiring, it’s something I do care about, especially since we’ve been needing to pay relocation costs due to limited labor supply in my area for our industry. However, since lower-income people have nearly doubled their hourly income, I can only assume they’re keeping up with rent prices. Our yearly COL adjustments (“raises”) have also doubled (from like 2-3% to 5-6%), but I think we’re net losing out because inflation has been a bit higher than that, but we’re above median pay so we can absorb a reduction in effective pay better than below-median workers.
I obviously can’t speak to your personal situation or really any other region than my own. That said, my state’s average income increased at a very similar rate as the rest of the country (second image). The last couple years were quite rough with layoffs and whatnot, but still, on average, people are better off today vs Q4 2019 (at least in paper). Whether that translates to individual situations is a separate matter.
The main issue seems to be rent prices, and that’s almost entirely due to supply chain disruptions resulting in new construction focusing on luxury housing vs affordable housing. That seems to have ended now that commodity prices have dropped and the labor pool has largely stabilized. So while I don’t expect to see rent prices drop significantly, I do expect to see them stabilize as availability improves.
Yup, and most of the prices have largely come back down, at least in my area, and lower wages have jumped (nearly double since 2019). Rent has doubled and used cars are still very lopsided, but on the whole, the average person in my area should be in a similar position vs 2019.
This obviously varies a lot by area. Electricity, for example, has stayed pretty flat, whereas in the article it says it has increased by ~50% in California. So articles like these don’t make a ton of sense to me, they don’t state where those numbers come from, and they definitely don’t look per state to see if it’s really representative of the average person.
So yeah, this article is worthless.
Your grocery prices have gone back down?? I’m not seeing that in my area. Groceries, eating out, and services are all still way up! Plus you say rent doubled like that’s no big deal. We’ve cut all luxeries ( I am counting preferred groceries and cleaning products as luxeries, anything above that is long since cut). It feels financially irresponsible to buy a friend a birthday gift. We are nowhere close to where we were in 2019.
Yeah, pretty much, at least for the things I buy. Eating out hasn’t gone down (but delivery pizza has stayed pretty flat, go figure), but groceries are something like 15% higher than pre-COVID prices, which is pretty typical for inflation over 4 years (down from like 30% or something). Price increases for eating out seems to have hit fast food the hardest, though we don’t eat fast food all that often anyway. I can still get a decent meal for ~$10 in my area at counter-service casual dining places, and prices for that are basically the same since pre-COVID, without noticeable changes in portions. Table service places are a bit more expensive, and I chalk that up to increased labor prices, which have nearly doubled since the start of COVID (starting wages were ~$7.50, now it’s $12-15).
Well, it doesn’t impact me, so it’s not something I personally had to deal with. I bought a place a few years before COVID, so my housing prices have been stable.
But it does impact my coworkers, and since I’m in a management position that’s involved in hiring, it’s something I do care about, especially since we’ve been needing to pay relocation costs due to limited labor supply in my area for our industry. However, since lower-income people have nearly doubled their hourly income, I can only assume they’re keeping up with rent prices. Our yearly COL adjustments (“raises”) have also doubled (from like 2-3% to 5-6%), but I think we’re net losing out because inflation has been a bit higher than that, but we’re above median pay so we can absorb a reduction in effective pay better than below-median workers.
I obviously can’t speak to your personal situation or really any other region than my own. That said, my state’s average income increased at a very similar rate as the rest of the country (second image). The last couple years were quite rough with layoffs and whatnot, but still, on average, people are better off today vs Q4 2019 (at least in paper). Whether that translates to individual situations is a separate matter.
The main issue seems to be rent prices, and that’s almost entirely due to supply chain disruptions resulting in new construction focusing on luxury housing vs affordable housing. That seems to have ended now that commodity prices have dropped and the labor pool has largely stabilized. So while I don’t expect to see rent prices drop significantly, I do expect to see them stabilize as availability improves.