SAN ANTONIO — SAN ANTONIO – Pay day is a good day. But that paycheck is no longer the same. Here’s why you're earning less money.
Inflation surged to its highest level in more than 30 years in October. According to the Labor Department, consumer prices went up 6.2%, compared to the 5.4% increase in the previous month.
The Labor Department also, reported that average hourly earnings rose in October. But when inflation is added into the mix, actual earnings end up going down.
Elisa Valdes-Salsedo, general manager at Purple Garlic Italian Café, says this is yet another hurdle for her employes. She said that they took a big hit during the pandemic and never fully recovered.
“All of a sudden we were non-essential and a lot of people who were in this industry had to choose other career paths unfortunately, and now we’re feeling the effects today,” said Valdes-Salsedo.
As purchasing power dips, basically what your money can buy you, people may tip less or not go to restaurants as often.
“My servers, 100% depend on customers gratuity and a lot of people don’t understand that if they’ve never been in this industry,” explained Valdes-Salsedo.
The restaurant’s general manager said as someone who’s dedicated her career to the service industry for more than 30 years, she has had her fair share of challenges and will do her best to stick it out.
“It’s tough. You definitely have to come up with different ways of saving money and making your dollar stretch versus before, when it was a little bit easier to go along with life. Not so much the case now,” she said.