Wage growth is a wildly difficult thing to categorize and analyze as a result. The largest percentage points gained came from the working class wages getting several dollars an hour more, but typically from the 9 bucks an hour range into 12 or 13 an hour, because employers literally were unable to get people working in grocery stores. So big percent gain but I'm real dollars and when coupled with inflation of rent and food it basically meant they were and are still falling behind.

Of course you have the "middle class" as well which saw moderate wage gains as well, but most of these people are more likely to swap jobs for raises rather than beg for raises from a current employer. Those who didn't job hop were seeing 4% gains iirc? Which when you roll together with the 12% of working class increases, does indeed paint a picture of "wow lol at all these gains were seeing the economy is doing great!"

But again the "middle class" is probably more upper class than actually middle, which has basically shrunk to such a small piece of the pie that it's like the top 60-80% (so only 20% of the people) of families and so I don't think they're actually hurting at all, compared to the bottom 60% of working class folks who are balanced on a knife's edge and it literally doesn't matter to them who is in power, life sucks, it's hard and they are just trying to last as long as possible before a health care issue knocks them out.

That's my take on it, I get most of my numbers from what sam seder talks about on his show, but I have the complete opposite take from him. The economy is a shambling zombie that doesn't know it's dead and is just waiting to collapse.