Charts: Average weekly earnings for U.S. workers

Real average hourly earnings for all employees was unchanged from December 2009 to January 2010, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. A 0.2 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) was offset by a 0.2 percent increase in average hourly earnings for all employees.

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Real average weekly earnings for all employees grew 0.3 percent over the month, as a result of a 0.3 percent increase in the average work week and no change in real average hourly earnings. Over the past six months, real average weekly earnings are essentially unchanged.

Real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees fell 0.1 percent from December 2009 to January 2010, seasonally adjusted. A 0.3 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPIW) was slightly more than offset by a 0.3 percent increase in average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees.

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Real average weekly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees increased 0.2 percent over the month, as a result of the change in real average hourly earnings and a 0.3 percent increase in the average work week. Since reaching a recent high point in December 2008, real average weekly earnings have fallen by 1.0 percent.

This earnings data is from the Current Employment Statistics Program. Recent earnings data is preliminary and subject to revision. With the release of January 2010 data the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics introduced changes to the Real Earnings news release, including new all employee hours and earnings data. Find out more in "Real Earnings — January 2010" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-10-0208.