Americans got hefty raises last year, but those fatter paychecks failed to keep the typical worker afloat as consumer prices soared.
or scale back hours to care for young children at home; and other workers opted to forgo certain kinds of roles over COVID-related health concerns.
Thanks to three rounds of stimulus payments, increased unemployment benefits, monthly child tax credit payments and other government aid offered during the past two years, many lower-wage workers were able to amass a savings cushion that gave them"some breathing room to pass on truly terrible job opportunities and look for something better," says Josh Bivens, director of research for the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning nonprofit think tank.
In an already high-turnover industry, this put even greater pressure on restaurants, hotels, bars, and attractions to sweeten their hourly rate to find workers.
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