The Fragile Backbone of the US Economy: Inside the Labor Economy

The “Wage to Wallet Index: Measuring the Labor Economy’s Impact on U.S. Financial and Economic Health,” a collaboration between PYMNTS Intelligence, WorkWhile and Ingo Payments, shines a spotlight on the 60 million workers whose jobs form the connective tissue of the United States economy. These are the warehouse associates, delivery drivers, cooks, servers, hotel staff and caregivers who keep goods moving, shelves stocked and services operating.

Together, they make up roughly one-third of the U.S. workforce and generate more than $1.7 trillion in annual consumer spending. Yet despite their scale and importance, this segment operates on precarious financial footing, a vulnerability that can quickly cascade through the broader economy.

The Wage to Wallet Index blends behavioral, transactional and real-time labor data to track how wage velocity, income access and scheduling stability shape both household well-being and macroeconomic resilience. PYMNTS Intelligence found that even a 1% change in wages across this segment can move GDP by $17 billion, underscoring how pay continuity and liquidity directly influence national economic performance. For these workers, faster access to earnings isn’t just a convenience — it’s a stabilizer that keeps local economies humming, consumer demand steady and financial stress at bay.

• Income timing drives consumption: The rhythm of paydays dictates when and how $1.7 trillion in spending flows through the economy — making on-time, predictable income critical to demand stability.
• Economic fragility becomes systemic risk: Lower savings and higher credit dependence among these workers mean that small financial shocks can ripple outward into inflation and growth trends.
• Instant pay creates real resilience: When workers can access their earnings in real time, reliance on high-cost credit drops, financial confidence rises and the entire economy benefits.

Together, these findings reveal a new lens for understanding the American workforce, one that treats the Labor Economy not as invisible labor, but as the living infrastructure that powers growth, productivity and financial stability.

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

The “Wage to Wallet Index: Measuring the Labor Economy’s Impact on U.S. Financial and Economic Health,” a collaboration between PYMNTS Intelligence, WorkWhile and Ingo Payments, is based on a proprietary economic model built by PYMNTS Intelligence 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.

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