Pay Is Rising for Essential Workers, But They Say It’s Still Not Enough

Only a minority of low-income employees consider their wages to be fair, according to a study by software company Payscale.

A waiter serves customers at an outside restaurant terrace in Plaza Mayor square, Madrid, Spain, on Wednesday, July 28, 2021. Spain is on track to be one of the fastest-growing economies among developed countries as the post-pandemic recovery accelerates, according to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.Photographer: Angel Navarrete/Bloomberg
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Wages are rising for workers considered essential during the Covid-19 pandemic, but few consider themselves fairly paid.

These are some of the findings by software company Payscale, which analyzed nearly 268,000 salary profiles and found that pay has climbed for a number of workers including house cleaners, nurses, and food service employees. Servers saw the largest gains with an increase to $21,300 annually this year from $17,100 in 2019, and about a third of wait staff surveyed consider their wages to be fair.