- - Cost of living is up. Paychecks are not. And workers are not OK.

Jessica Guynn, USA TODAYJanuary 25, 2026 at 5:02 AM

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American workers have one big complaint about their jobs: They don’t get paid enough to keep up with the soaring cost of living.

Even with cost-of-living adjustments or pay increases, 4 in 10 workers say their income has not kept up with their expenses, according to a new USA TODAY/SurveyMonkey Workforce Survey of more than 3,000 American workers.

Heading into the 2026 midterm elections, cost-of-living concerns are the central issue at kitchen tables across America. With Americans paying higher prices for everything from groceries to car insurance, savings are dwindling, credit card debt is mounting and household budgets are stretched thin.

And so are their options to do something about it. Job insecurity and anxiety have spread with the hiring slowdown and waves of layoffs. Many workers are keeping the job they have rather than hunting for a new one, even if that means it's harder to negotiate better pay.

Only 1 in 5 workers say their pay increased more than inflation over the past year. One in 3 say their pay kept pace with higher living expenses.

“The American paycheck isn't keeping up with American life,” Eva Chan, career expert at Resume Genius, which makes resume builder software, said in a statement.

Too little money saved in case of layoff

The yawning gap between what American workers make and what they spend on the basics has put even more workers in precarious financial straits.

More than half of workers have less than three months of living expenses saved up in the case of a layoff. Nearly a third only have enough to last one month and almost a quarter could hold out one to two months.

The USA TODAY/SurveyMonkey Workforce Survey also found:

42% of workers say their current savings can cover three months or more of living expenses

16% have three to five months worth of living expenses saved up

12% have six to 12 months saved up

14% have more than 12 months saved up

The retirement savings crisis is here Why more Americans can’t afford to stop working

Financial stress prevalent among American workers

These days, financial stress has become even more prevalent in the workplace.

More than half of employees are dealing with financial strain, according to last year's PwC Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey. Fewer than half of employees in the survey received a raise in the previous year.

Social media is rife with tearful videos of how hard it has become to make ends meet. Some 14% of workers can’t or struggle to pay their bills each month, PwC found. Another 42% pay their bills with little or nothing left over for savings. PwC says that’s more than half of the workforce experiencing financial strain in 2025.

“I have to work 40 hours a week just so I can have a place to live,” one woman said in one Instagram post. “Forty hours a week makes me $2000 a month and my rent is $1,660. So I work 40 hours a week so I can have a two-bedroom apartment and an extra $300 a month. Like, that doesn’t even cover my phone, internet, food.”

Almost three quarters of human resources professionals surveyed in 2024 by ZayZoon said that covering basic necessities such as rent and groceries topped the list of their employees’ stresses. ZayZoon is a service that allows employees to access wages before payday for a fee.

More than half – 61% – said their employees live paycheck to paycheck. Almost all reported workers experiencing at least one serious financial setback such as personal bankruptcy, homelessness and eviction.

People shop at a grocery store in Brooklyn on December 12, 2025 in New York City.Help with health-care costs tops wish list

Another huge bread-and-butter expense item is health care. And getting employers to pay for it tops workers’ wish list of workplace benefits.

Half of workers say healthcare premiums fully paid by their employer is their No. 1 request.

Most working-age Americans get health insurance through the workplace and their employers pick up most of the tab. But the remainder is significant, especially now that health insurance bills are now rising faster than paychecks and employers are shifting more of the burden to workers with higher deductibles and copayments.

Other health benefits also rank high, according to the survey:

26% want a health or wellness stipend

22% of parents with children under 18 cite paid parental leave

21% want paid family or caregiver leave and 10% want fertility or family planning assistance.

Other desired benefits reflect the financial crunch workers are facing:

32% 401(k) match

28% want unlimited PTO

22% want free food on the job

18% want a transportation stipend

17% want student loan repayment

22% of parents (of a child under 18) want free onsite childcare

American workers want financial planning help

As workers navigate the financial shoals, some are seeking out financial planning resources.

Four in 10 workers say their workplace offers financial education or planning resources. More than a third said their workplaces do not offer that benefit. One in 4 are not sure.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cost of living is up. Paychecks are not. Workers are not OK.

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Source: “AOL Money”