2026年5月18日 美国东部时间下午5:01 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
根据哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS News）的一项民调，约四分之三的美国人表示他们的收入跟不上通胀水平。
近期经济数据也印证了所谓实际工资的下滑。4月，美国通胀同比增速达到3.8%，而工薪族的薪资涨幅仅为3.6%——这是2023年以来消费者物价涨幅首次超过薪资涨幅。
这种生活水平倒退的感受，尤其是受汽油价格飙升推动的通胀，正加剧许多人面临的经济负担压力：哥伦比亚广播公司的民调显示，76%的受访者对个人财务状况感到担忧。
在5月13日至15日进行的这项民调中，约64%的受访者还认为美国经济处于“非常糟糕”或“相当糟糕”的状态。
“民众看到各地物价都在上涨，手里的钱比以前更不经花了，”前美国劳工部官员、现任进步派智库世纪基金会政策项目主管安吉拉·汉克斯对哥伦比亚广播公司表示。
上周公布的劳工数据显示，能源价格飙升在4月的通胀涨幅中占比40%。按年计算，上月汽油价格同比上涨超过28%。经济学家表示，美国对进口商品提高关税也推动了近期的通胀走高。
“短期内，更高的能源价格将推高整体通胀，”美联储前主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔4月29日在担任央行行长期间的最后一场新闻发布会上表示，“除此之外，这类冲击对经济的影响范围和持续时间仍不明朗，中东冲突本身的未来走向也同样未知。”
汉克斯指出，更高的燃油成本正渗透到部分消费品的价格中。
“民众上下班通勤要花更多油钱，企业的成本定价也会相应反映到消费者身上，”她说，“所有这些因素共同制造了更多摩擦，让企业更难招聘，也让劳动力市场难以维持此前的增速。”
消费者承担全部压力
部分经济学家认为，伊朗局势带来的不确定性让人们难以预测通胀何时会回落。
“中东冲突似乎没有任何缓和迹象，关税仍在严重冲击消费者和企业，食品券和医保的削减也让普通家庭的生活更加艰难，”无党派智库预算与政策优先中心首席经济学家根贝加·阿吉洛雷在给哥伦比亚广播公司的一份声明中表示。
尽管占经济活动约三分之二的消费者支出今年基本保持稳定，但阿吉洛雷担心这种情况可能很快改变。
“总有一天，大多数消费者——不仅仅是低收入群体——会缩减开支，这将导致经济增速下滑，”他说。
Pay for American workers is lagging inflation — again
May 18, 2026 5:01 PM EDT / CBS News
Roughly three-quarters of Americans say their incomes are lagging behind inflation, according to a CBS News poll.
Recent economic data attests to the dip in so-called real wages. In April, U.S. inflation rose at an annual rate of 3.8% from a year ago, while workers’ paychecks grew 3.6% — the first time since 2023 that consumer prices have outpaced wage growth.
That sense of slipping backward, particularly driven by surging gasoline prices, is worsening the affordability challenges facing many people: 76% of survey respondents reported concern about their personal finances, CBS News found.
Some 64% also described the state of the economy as “very bad” or “fairly bad,” according to the survey, which was conducted from May 13-15.
“People are looking at higher prices across the board, and their dollar is not carrying them as far as it previously was,” Angela Hanks, a former Department of Labor official and currently chief of policy programs at The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank, told CBS News.
Surging energy prices accounted for 40% of the April inflation spike, labor data showed last week. On an annual basis, gasoline prices jumped more than 28% last month from a year ago. Steeper U.S. tariffs on imports are also contributing to the recent burst of inflation, according to economists.
“In the near term, higher energy prices will push up overall inflation,” former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on April 29 in his final press conference as head of the central bank. “Beyond that, the scope and duration of potential effects on the economy remain unclear, as does the future course of the conflict itself.
Higher fuel costs are seeping into the price of some consumer goods, Hanks said.
“People are paying more for gas to get to and from work, and it’s showing up in how companies are pricing in their costs for consumers as well,” she said. “All of those things together create more friction that makes it harder for businesses to hire and for the labor market to maintain its pace.”
Consumers bearing the load
Uncertainty over the Iran war makes it hard to predict when inflation might recede, according to some economists.
“There doesn’t seem to be any progress in resolving the Middle East conflict, tariffs are still hitting consumers and businesses hard, and cuts to food stamps and health care are making life harder for the average household,” Gbenga Ajilore, chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan think tank, said in a statement to CBS News.
Although consumer spending — which accounts for roughly two-thirds of economic activity — has largely held up this year, Ajilore worries that could change quickly.
“At some point, a majority of consumers — not just low-income ones — are going to pull back their spending, and that is going to lead to lower economic growth,” he said.
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