Inflation is outpacing wage growth again, squeezing Americans’ paychecks

Americans face a renewed squeeze on their paychecks as inflation once again rises faster than wage growth, putting further pressure on consumer wallets. "A substantial number of Americans are worse off, their incomes are not keeping up with the price increases right now," Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, told CNBC. Consumer prices rose 3.4% in August from a year earlier, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics . Average hourly earnings, meanwhile, increased just 3.1% over the same period, according to a separate BLS report released Friday. Real average hourly earnings, adjusted for inflation, fell 0.1% from July and were down 0.3% from a year earlier in August.