A New York City grocery store on Jan. 16, 1980, and a Washington, D.C., grocery store on April 12, 2026. (Barbara Alper/Getty Images; Al Drago/Getty Images)

Inflation in the United States reached its highest level in three years in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) . And many Americans are feeling the pinch: In a Pew Research Center survey also conducted in April, 66% of U.S. adults said inflation is a very big problem facing the nation, up from 63% last year.

With many Americans worried about prices, it’s worth looking at whether workers’ wages have been rising quickly enough to keep up. Like a lot of things in economics, however, there’s not one definitive answer.…