Although average hourly wages rose 4.7 percent last year, overall wages fell 2.4 percent on average for all workers, when adjusted for inflation, according to the Labor Department…

In interviews with more than a dozen workers, many said that despite considerable pay raises — as much as 33 percent, in some cases — they were still struggling to cover basic expenses. Several workers said they had taken second jobs to keep up with rising costs for groceries, gas and rent. And many said their budgets will be even more strained once student loan payments resume in May.

Devon Norris works as a culinary arts high school teacher and in the months since the pandemic began, his annual salary has increased by more than 20 percent to $47,500.

Norris says it’s still next to impossible to find an apartment in Jacksonville, Fla., that he can afford on his own. His basic expenses — food, gas, utilities, car insurance — have all ballooned in the past year. He pays $950 in monthly rent for a two-bedroom house, but he has been asked to move out so his landlord can sell the house. Comparable rentals in the area, he says, easily cost double what he was paying.