12-20-2022, 09:45 PM
Quote:A majority of U.S. employed consumers continue to find it difficult to keep up with the pace of inflation that's running at a four-decade high, hence 65% of employees lived paycheck-to-paycheck in September versus 60% a year ago, according to a recent LendingClub survey, which inquired 3,942 consumers between September 9-23. Indeed, the mismatch between inflation and wages is quite stark. In September, headline inflation rose 8.2% Y/Y while average hourly earnings increased just 4.9%, as seen in the chart below. In turn, 26% of the survey respondents said they have more than one job, and 30% of workers reported they're likely to switch jobs over the next six months to receive higher pay.Most employees live paycheck-to-paycheck as inflation easily outpaces wages | Seeking Alpha
Quote:The worry is that the Fed may be choosing to look more at current economic data and isn’t thinking enough about the lag effect of its existing rate hikes. Inflation in the US economy may not have peaked yet, but there is a growing sense that we’re pretty darn close to that. “It is critical that policymakers…prepare for a slowdown in demand as the lagged impact of rising interest rates and inflation begins to exert a powerful downward pull on economic activity,” Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM US, said in a report. He added that the economy “clearly is at risk of falling into recession in the near term.”The Fed may have to blow up the economy to get inflation under control