4.6% Income Growth Required to Keep Up in US Economy, Highest Since 2006
Sunday March 3, 2019

Based upon last week’s “advance” estimate of full year 2018 GDP by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, StayingEven’s initial estimate of the 2018 Staying Even Index (SEI) is 4.6%.

This reading is significantly higher than the reported 2.4% increase in the average consumer price index (CPI) for 2018, demonstrating that wages that increase with inflation/COLA are not sufficient to keep up in the growing U.S. economy. And, 2018’s SEI reading is over 1% higher than 2017 and the highest annual reading since 2006, meaning that the rate of income growth needed to keep up has increased substantially and is the largest in over a decade. 

The 4.6% increase in the Staying Even Index (SEI) is based upon reported 2018 nominal GDP growth of 5.2% and estimated population growth of 0.6%.

These projections suggest that individuals whose 2018 total income from all sources grew by more than 4.6% from 2017 expanded their adjusted share of the U.S. economy, and those whose total income grew by less than this fell behind compared to the prior year. SEI growth for calendar year 2017 was 3.5% and, in 2016, was 1.9%.

StayingEven.com will publish updates to these figures as GDP and population estimates are revised. We are dedicated to helping individuals understand what income growth is required to keep up in the U.S. Economy.

## 

To find out whether you have gotten ahead, try our Staying Even Calculator, and to learn more about the Index, visit us at StayingEven.com. You can also follow us @stayingeven on Twitter.