Wages rose swiftly in 2021 as employers from tech firms to coffee shops struggled to find workers.
- Now the labor market is cooling down, and so is wage growth, according to Indeed data.
By the numbers: Wages spiked fastest in essential, low-wage jobs in the service and care industries during the pandemic — peaking at 12.3% year-over-year growth at the beginning of 2022.
- As the world opens back up, wage growth in these sectors is falling fastest, notes Nick Bunker, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab.
The bottom line: Wage growth remains strong — and well above 2019 levels — but the rapid gains workers made during the pandemic are slowing.
- "As demand has faded and workers' interest has returned, the competition [among employers] has faded," says Bunker.