U.S. Workers' Share of National Income Falls to 54.1 Percent in Early 2026, Lowest Since 1947

American workers received 54.1 percent of national income in early 2026, the lowest share recorded since the federal government began tracking the measure after World War II, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The labor share of income measures how much of the nation's economic output reaches workers through wages and salaries rather than investors through profits and dividends.

The same figure stood above 65 percent nearly 80 years ago and at 57.7 percent in early 2020.

A separate analysis by the Economic Policy Institute found workers captured 71.3 percent of corporate income in the first quarter of 2026, down from 77.8 percent at the start of 2020 and 79.1 percent in 1979. Josh Bivens, chief economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said the gap between firm profitability and wage growth leaves many workers feeling they have not advanced.

"A good symbol of this is the value of the federal minimum wage — it's the lowest today in inflation-adjusted terms than it's been in about 50 years," he said.

Union membership fell to 10 percent of the U.S. workforce last year from 20 percent in 1983, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research.25 an hour since 2009.

A May CBS News poll found three-quarters of Americans said their incomes are not keeping up with inflation, while 29 percent described the economy as in good shape. A Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey showed 48 percent of respondents said their financial situation was worse in May than a year earlier, the highest share since January 2023.

Angela Hanks, chief of policy programs at the Century Foundation, said the widening gap between top earners and lower- and middle-income households explains persistent consumer pessimism even at low unemployment.