ADP Research argues slower inflation has not restored lost purchasing power

ADP Research argues slower inflation has not restored lost purchasing power

ADP Research’s article was published on August 18, 2026. It argues that slower inflation has not restored the purchasing power many households lost as prices rose. Prices keep rising when inflation slows, and pay increases may not catch up. The article reports that 43 percent of workers who stayed with the same employer from 2021 through 2024 had lower real wages. Including workers who changed jobs, 37 percent were still worse off in real terms by the end of 2024. The article says employers kept using conventional pay practices during the inflation shock, while workers who changed jobs generally fared better. But changing jobs can carry costs, and negotiating an off-cycle raise requires skills and leverage not every worker has. Older workers changed jobs less often and received smaller pay increases. The article suggests that fewer opportunities to reset wages might help explain their dissatisfaction. It concludes that many workers still feel—and, in real terms, are—behind, a major reason for the gap between positive economic data and negative consumer sentiment.

Publication: b701408c-241e-3921-c5c5-09250cb5a2ab

attribution — pass: The reading attributes the argument and statistics to the ADP Research article, the publisher of this single first-person column. Figures are framed as what 'the article reports' or 'says', not as established fact. The page is one argued piece, not a listing.

In a new paper, ADP research lead data scientist Liv Wang and I, together with University of Chicago Booth School of Business professors Erik Hurst and Christina Patterson, examined the payroll records

summary — pass: The summary leads with the author's central thesis and explains the distinction between slowing inflation and still-rising prices in plain language. It carries the key statistics, the sticky pay-practice mechanism, job mobility and its costs, older workers' disadvantage, and the conclusion about the data–sentiment gap. Terms such as 'real wages' and 'off-cycle raise' are understandable in context. The question follows from the evidence without leading.

Our central conclusion is both simple and powerful: Inflation has slowed, but many people never fully recovered the purchasing power they lost when prices surged.

date — pass: The stated date of August 18, 2026 matches originalPublished at day precision. Internal references fit that dateline: July inflation reported last week, August sentiment, and Tuesday's housing-starts data. There is no hindsight framing. The evidence is a publisher page, so no archive disclosure is needed.

Last week, we learned that the pace of inflation cooled in July. But we also saw consumer sentiment fall 12.4 percent in August from the previous year.

support — pass: Each claim and summary sentence maps to source text. This covers the 43% and 37% figures, the conventional pay practices, the costs of changing jobs, older workers' smaller gains, and the hedged suggestion about dissatisfaction. The conclusion that a 'big reason' explains the gap is properly attributed. No unsupported benefits or costs are added.

Workers who have fewer opportunities to reset wages might also be the most dissatisfied with the economy.

media — pass: No media is selected, and no verified candidates were supplied, so no media identity or relevance issue arises.