Many Americans are getting paid more now than they did in previous years, but that extra money isn’t doing much to offset spiraling inflation in most parts of the country, according to a new survey from The New York Times.

                By                    Vance Cariaga

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Only 17% of workers responded that they had received raises which kept up with inflation over the past year, according to a survey of 5,365 adults which was conducted last month by Momentive for The New York Times. The majority of the remaining respondents said they either received raises that lagged behind inflation — or got no raise at all. Another 8% of those polled said their pay was cut.

Nearly 90% of respondents said they are at least “somewhat concerned” about inflation, with roughly 60% saying they are “very concerned.”

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Recent figures show a similar pattern of disparity between inflation and pay hikes. The Consumer Price Index rose 6.8% in November to a nearly four-decade high, while average hourly earnings climbed 4.8% for the month.

Some sectors of the economy have been doling out raises at a much faster pace, however. As The New York Times noted, government data shows that wage gains are outpacing inflation in the service sector, where intense competition for workers has forced employers to hike pay at a much faster rate than other industries.

Learn: The Year in Inflation: What It Meant for the US — And Your Wallet Explore: Items Hit Hardest by Inflation: How Gas, Bacon & More Fared in 2021

But most of the rest of the country is in the economic doldrums. Concerns about inflation have contributed to the lowest level of consumer confidence in the nearly five years that Momentive (formerly Survey Monkey) has conducted its survey.

“Pretty much the only group of people who say they’re better off now than they were a year ago are people who’ve gotten a pay raise that matches or beats inflation,” Laura Wronski, a research scientist at Momentive, told The New York Times.

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