Prices up, earnings down

First, the bad news:

Consumer prices jumped 0.6 percent in March, the biggest inflation surge in five months, as the costs of energy, clothing and airline fares all rose sharply.

Now, the really bad news:

Workers' real average weekly earnings fell 0.3 percent during the month, the second straight decline. Earnings also fell 0.3 percent in February.

Sigh.