Americans have seen their wages increase as pandemic restrictions have eased over the past year, which have continued into April but not kept up with the rising rate of inflation, according to the latest employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on May 6.
Employee salaries have been on the rise for the past year, as employers struggled to retain and hire new staff as millions of American workers sought out jobs with higher wages.
Wage growth in nominal terms is by some measures stronger than has been seen in many decades.
The average U.S. employee made $31.85 an hour in April, said the report, which is an increase from the same time last year when the average was at $30.20 an hour, a 5.5 percent increase.