As financial stress and sustained high costs of living continue, employees are feeling doubtful that their wages will catch up with everyday costs.
Nearly half of working Americans (49%) say they do not believe their wages will ever catch up with the rising cost of living, with another 32% saying their wages won’t catch up for many years, according to a 2026 financial outlook from San Francisco-based career platform Resume Now, which surveyed 1,011 U.S. workers for results. Fewer than 1 in 5 (19%) think their wages will catch up to inflation in 2026.
“Workers are telling us something critical: They’re not just stretched thin; they’re losing hope,” said Keith Spencer, career expert at Resume Now. “When half the workforce believes their wages will never catch up to the cost of living, that’s more than financial stress. It’s a fundamental breakdown of confidence in the economy. People are postponing milestones, feeling underpaid, and bracing for another year of strain. These findings underline how urgently workers need stability, transparency, and meaningful wage growth.”
About 7 in 10 workers (69%) feel underpaid, with just 2% believing they are overpaid, according to Resume Now.
The survey data comes amid varying economic strains. Although inflation has eased in the past few months — consumer prices rose by a year-over-year rate of 2.4% in January, according to the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ inflation report — workers are still feeling the effects of sustained high cost of living.
President Donald Trump’s tariffs — which were struck down Feb. 20 by the U.S. Supreme Court — also have contributed to higher prices and financial concerns. At the same time, wage growth has stayed mostly flat, with employers pumping the brakes on the more generous raises they were giving out over the past couple of years. Data from consulting firm WTW, for example, found that 21% of employers report decreasing pay budgets in 2026.
Looking for Salary Help
The Resume Now data also comes on the heels of the 2026 SHRM State of the Workplace report, which found that employees are looking for salary help from their employers. Workers said employee salary or pay wages are their top workplace need (cited by 24% of workers). While HR professionals and executives did not rank salaries as the top workplace need — both ranked managers’ and supervisors’ ability to effectively lead their direct reports as the top workplace need — they did place it as the third top need, according to the SHRM report.
“As HR professionals and executives navigate organizational transformations, many are leaning on their company’s leaders and managers to drive these changes,” Derrick Scheetz, lead researcher at SHRM, said last month. “It is important to note that workers and employers agreeing on several of the top workplace needs helps validate these concerns and highlights their importance across perspectives. This consensus should give HR professionals confidence that initiatives aimed at addressing these issues will be meaningful to workers and more likely to yield positive business outcomes.”
Other recent reports have similar findings.
The majority (51%) of employees say falling behind on pay is their top worry in 2026, according to a report from jobs site Zety. Another survey of more than 1,200 employees from careers site Monster found that an overwhelming 95% of workers said their wages have not kept up with the rising cost of living.
“It is not surprising at all” that employees are concerned about pay and looking for help from their employers, said Todd Katz, head of U.S. Group Benefits at insurer MetLife in New York City. “Rising costs are stretching household budgets, and ongoing uncertainty is taking a toll on employees’ holistic health. It makes sense that workers are looking for stability, flexibility, and support from their employers.”
Financial Stress
More than one-third (38%) of workers expect financial stress to increase in 2026, and 39% overall expect no improvement, according to the Resume Now report.
Financial stress has risen, with roughly one-third of Americans saying their personal finances will worsen in 2026, according to Bankrate’s recent Financial Outlook Survey — the highest level of pessimism since 2018.
Although simply boosting wages is not a strategy employers can easily turn to given their own economic concerns, pay experts advise employers to monitor market and workforce data closely to not fall behind.
Because each workplace is unique, Scheetz said, HR professionals can develop a better understanding of specific needs within their workplace through data collection methods such as employee interviews, focus groups, or workplace surveys.
“Insights derived from these actions will help to inform and develop relevant workplace initiatives meant to address actual pressing needs,” he said.
Focusing on employee benefits offerings, such as retirement, health care plans, health savings accounts, and financial wellness offerings, can also help employees improve their financial picture and save for expenses.
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