Top 1% in the US took about 15% of all salaries of 2021
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US millionaires faced wage increases at a time when workers in the US witnessed wage decreases throughout 2021.
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US millionaires get richer as workers get poorer (Getty images)
The gap between US millionaires and the average working class citizen widened in 2021, according to statistics. The top 1% of multimillionaires had the largest income increases in real, inflation-adjusted, dollars while the salaries of the bottom 90% decreased.
The top 1% of earners will see their yearly incomes climb by 9.4% in 2021. The top incomes of the top 0.1% increased by 18.5%, making them the wealthiest of the one percent.
This is in sharp contrast to the salary trend for the lowest 90%, who saw a 0.2% pay drop in real wages in 2021. This allowed the top 1% to take about 15% of all salaries last year — and, in fact, the top 1% was the only group whose pay increased in 2021. Meanwhile, the bottom 90%'s wage share fell to a historic low of 58.6%.
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) analyzed Social Security Administration statistics and examined pay patterns over the last four decades.
NEW: Wages rose fastest for the top 1% and 0.1% of earners in 2021, while the bottom 90% took a pay cut.
— Economic Policy Institute (@EconomicPolicy) December 21, 2022
Inequality has skyrocketed over the past 40 years. This growing inequality isn’t inevitable—it is a result of policy choices to reduce worker power. https://t.co/h1Ex1MdaAX pic.twitter.com/WQYPjiqkjO
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