Why Your Raise Is Growing Faster Than Childcare Costs for the First Time

In this episode of Wages and Prices with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna examine a surprising turn in the cost of childcare. For years, childcare costs have risen faster than wages, squeezing working parents. But new data shows that in 2026, average hourly earnings are growing at 4.2 percent year-over-year, while childcare inflation has slowed to just 2.8 percent — the first sustained gap in a decade. They dig into why: a shift in labor supply as daycare centers struggle to hire, state-level subsidies that are finally kicking in, and changing family preferences post-pandemic. Lucas shares a story from a center in Ohio that cut prices by 5 percent after a local grant. They also discuss what this means for the Fed's inflation picture and whether the trend can last. The episode closes with a question: will this wage-childcare crossover survive a potential recession? #ChildcareCosts #WageGrowth #CostOfLiving #RealWageGrowth #ChildcareInflation #Inflation #FederalReserve #LaborMarket #Economics #WagesAndPrices #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #WorkingParents #ChildcareCrisis #Ohio #Subsidies #CoreCPI #PCE Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo