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US: The race between inflation and wage growth
Workers held more power over their employers last year than ever before, but that still hurt them in the end. Why it matters: Higher wages and benefits that workers received are quickly getting passed back down to them in the form of price hikes that companies say they have to enact to keep profits growing. Driving the news: Employers paid 4% more in wages and benefits in 2021 than 2020, according to the Employment Cost Index out today. • Yes, but: Growth in the last part of the year was below what analysts expected, as noted by Axios chief economic correspondent Neil Irwin. • Meanwhile, prices grew 4.9% last ... (full story)