The Social Security Administration has announced a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for about 72 million recipients in January, above the 3.4% median wage growth for job stayers. Independent economist Aaron Terrazas notes COLA exceeded job-stayers' raises in three of the past six years, because retiree income is indexed to living costs while most workers are paid according to labor costs. The three-month average wage growth for job switchers was higher than both figures, but finding a new job may be hard depending on the field, especially in white-collar work where job losses have occurred. The labor market is in a low-hire, low-fire period, so layoffs are low, yet many job seekers feel insecure despite steady overall job numbers.
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