Retail workers saw bump in pay even after inflation

The average worker’s pay shrank 1.2 percent between Dec. 2019 and June 2022 when inflation was factored in. Retail and hospitality were the two industries where workers came slightly out ahead of the rate of inflation. Retail workers’ pay was up 0.2 percent during the period, according to an analysis of Labor Department statistics by Jason Furman, an economics professor at Harvard University and a former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers.