How lower-paid workers are getting their biggest pay raise in years

September 11, 2026 / 2:25 PM EDT / CBS News

How lower-paid workers are getting their biggest pay raise in years

TL;DR

  • Job switchers, primarily lower-paid hourly workers, saw their fastest wage growth in over three years in July.
  • The three-month moving average wage increase for job changers reached 12.5% in July.
  • This trend is contributing to a narrowing pay gap between lower-income and higher-income workers.
  • Lower-income households' after-tax wages rose 4.7% year over year in August, compared to 3.5% for higher-income households.
  • White-collar workers in industries susceptible to AI automation are showing lower quit rates and practicing "job-hugging" due to job insecurity and increased competition.
  • Employers are facing skills mismatches, giving job seekers more bargaining power and incentivizing higher pay.
  • The buildout of AI data centers is also contributing to higher pay for some job switchers in related construction and technical roles.