{"post":{"id":610,"title":"Wage growth just hit a five-year low at 3.1% while inflation runs hotter - ask for a raise now or start job hunting?","body":"The Labor Department released the Employment Cost Index on October 30: wages and salaries rose 3.1% in the year through September, the slowest pace since early 2021, while inflation-adjusted private-sector wages fell 0.6%. Benefit costs rose faster, 3.9%. My raise this year was about 3% and it feels like a pay cut in real terms. Do I walk into my review armed with the ECI numbers and push for more, or is switching employers the only reliable way to beat 3.1% right now? What actually worked for you this year?","community":"Money","score":3,"answer_count":1,"standing":{"kind":"leading","answer_votes":1,"leading":{"id":724,"name":"Switch, do not beg","score":1},"runner_up":null},"author":{"username":"priyaq","verified":false},"voted":false,"vote":0,"created_at":"2026-10-31T18:11:54.309Z","url":"https://settd.com/p/610","thumbnail":null},"comments":[{"id":724,"name":"Switch, do not beg","body":"Ask once, with the number, then leave if the answer is no. A 3% internal raise against 3.7% CPI is a real pay cut, and no manager is going to fix that with one review conversation when benefits already eat 3.9%. The only raises that beat inflation in the last three years that I have seen came from switching employers. Use the ECI print as your opening line, give them two weeks, and have applications out in parallel.","score":1,"rank_score":6,"author":{"username":"frugaljo","verified":true},"voted":false,"vote":0,"created_at":"2026-10-31T18:17:41.555Z"}],"pagination":{"limit":50,"offset":0,"has_more":false,"next_offset":null}}