Bonds & Rates
Home›Bonds & Rates›Economy›Wages fell to 43% of US GDP income, lowest since the G…
Wages fell to 43% of US GDP income, lowest since the Great Depression
Wages and salaries were about 43% of U.S. gross domestic income in Q1 2026, and the calculation excludes employer-paid benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans.
Yahoo Finance highlights an analysis using Federal Reserve data that shows wages and salaries at roughly 43% of U.S. gross domestic income in the first quarter of 2026, a level described as nearly the lowest since the Great Depression.
The article notes that the figure is based specifically on wages and salaries, not total compensation. It says the share does not include benefits employers pay for workers, such as health insurance and retirement plans, and it adds that Americans have continued to see wage increases.
It points to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Cost Index, which found wages and salaries rose 3.2% over the 12 months leading up to June 2026. Yahoo Finance also mentions a popular theory tying the shift to the Aug. 15, 1971 decision by President Richard Nixon to cut the dollar’s last tie to gold, which ended the fixed gold exchange arrangement at $35 an ounce under the Bretton Woods system.
Latest closeGold $4,292.00 ▲1.1%