Wage to Wallet Index™: Measuring the Labor Economy’s Impact on U.S. Financial and Economic Health

September 2026

The Wage to Wallet Index is a monthly study tracking how wage growth, income access and job stability among 60 million essential U.S. workers impact household resilience, consumer demand and overall economic performance.

Wage to Wallet Index: Measuring the Labor Economy’s Impact on U.S. Financial and Economic Health

America’s economic engine runs on people who stock warehouses, move goods, serve meals, clean rooms, assist patients and staff retail counters. This is the Labor Economy, and it’s made up of roughly 60 million workers.

This project, a collaboration between PYMNTS Intelligence and WorkWhile, will detail the financial attitudes, behaviors and vulnerabilities of the Labor Economy and suggest some implications for the economy at large.

Study findings show that financial fragility runs deep, as low savings, high credit use and rising costs strain resilience. Workers are trading down and cutting back, with unstable income amplifying the pressure. Instant pay access emerges as a vital lifeline—most choose it when available, valuing the stability and relief it brings between pay cycles.

Why the Labor Economy Matters 

PYMNTS Intelligence estimates U.S. consumers will spend $11.5 trillion in 2025. Labor Economy workers account for 36.5% of all employees, but because they are concentrated in lower-income bands, they drive 15.1% of total spending, which is still more than $1.7 trillion of annual outlays. Small wage changes scale quickly at that base. A 1% wage change for this workforce implies roughly a $17 billion impact on GDP. Applying recent wage changes observed in the sample, annualized spending impacts ranged from a $40 billion increase to $40 billion decrease. The sensitivity is real. So are the stakes.

Conclusion

The Labor Economy is where the economy becomes real—moving boxes, serving meals and caring for people. These workers operate on thin financial buffers, their spending ebbing and flowing with each paycheck. Supporting them with fair wages, predictable schedules and instant pay access strengthens households, businesses and the broader economy. The takeaway? When the Labor Economy thrives, so does everyone else.

Methodology

PYMNTS Intelligence built a proprietary economic model to estimate the spending power of the Labor Economy and its contribution to U.S. consumer outlays. The model integrates official U.S. government data on consumer spending and income with workforce composition and occupational mapping to isolate workers in hands-on roles across logistics, retail, hospitality, construction and healthcare support. We established a baseline of spending by income and demographics, then layered in the workforce and occupational distribution that defines this segment to estimate its aggregate spending and its share of total consumer activity. The resulting figures provide directional insight into the scale and importance of this workforce while maintaining consistency with external benchmarks.

Wage to Wallet™