Small US Firms Are Opting to Raise Pay More Than Prices

For six straight months, more US small businesses have been raising wages than prices. That marks a return to the pre-pandemic trend and follows a rare reversal in 2021 and 2022.

A net 41% of firms in a monthly survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business said in May that they had recently boosted pay, according to data published Tuesday. Meanwhile a net 32% of respondents said they had recently raised prices, the smallest share in more than two years.