Real Earnings News – May, 2016

All employees

Real average hourly earnings for all employees were unchanged from April to May, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This result stems from a 0.2-percent increase in average hourly earnings being offset by a 0.2-percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

Real average weekly earnings were unchanged over the month due to no changes in both real average hourly earnings and the average workweek.

Real average hourly earnings increased 1.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, from May 2015 to May 2016. This increase in real average hourly earnings combined with a 0.3-percent decrease in the average workweek resulted in a 1.1-percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period.

Production and nonsupervisory employees

Real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees decreased 0.1 percent from April to May, seasonally adjusted. This result stems from a 0.1-percent increase in average hourly earnings being offset by a 0.2-percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

Real average weekly earnings decreased 0.1 percent over the month due to the decrease in real average hourly earnings combined with no change in average weekly hours.

From May 2015 to May 2016, real average hourly earnings increased 1.7 percent, seasonally adjusted. The increase in real average hourly earnings combined with no change in the average workweek resulted in a 1.6-percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period.

Table A-1. Current and real (constant 1982-1984 dollars) earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls, seasonally adjusted
	May 2015	Mar. 2016	Apr. 2016(p)	May 2016(p)
Real average hourly earnings(1)	$10.54	$10.70	$10.69	$10.69
Real average weekly earnings(1)	$363.68	$367.97	$367.78	$367.70
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers	236.876	237.920	238.890	239.410
Average hourly earnings	$24.97	$25.45	$25.54	$25.59
Average weekly hours	34.5	34.4	34.4	34.4
Average weekly earnings	$861.47	$875.48	$878.58	$880.30
OVER-THE-MONTH PERCENT CHANGE
Real average hourly earnings(1)	-0.1	0.2	-0.1	0.0
Real average weekly earnings(1)	0.0	0.1	-0.1	0.0
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers	0.3	0.1	0.4	0.2
Average hourly earnings	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.2
Average weekly hours	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Average weekly earnings	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.2
OVER-THE-YEAR PERCENT CHANGE
Real average hourly earnings(1)	2.3	1.5	1.3	1.4
Real average weekly earnings(1)	2.3	1.1	1.1	1.1
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers	0.0	0.9	1.1	1.1
Average hourly earnings	2.3	2.3	2.5	2.5
Average weekly hours	0.0	-0.3	-0.3	-0.3
Average weekly earnings	2.3	2.0	2.2	2.2
Footnotes (1) The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is used to deflate the earnings series for all employees. (p) Preliminary

Table A-2. Current and real (constant 1982-1984 dollars) earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls, seasonally adjusted(1)
	May 2015	Mar. 2016	Apr. 2016(p)	May 2016(p)
Real average hourly earnings(2)	$9.05	$9.22	$9.21	$9.20
Real average weekly earnings(2)	$304.24	$309.94	$309.42	$309.22
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers	231.813	231.991	233.036	233.513
Average hourly earnings	$20.99	$21.40	$21.46	$21.49
Average weekly hours	33.6	33.6	33.6	33.6
Average weekly earnings	$705.26	$719.04	$721.06	$722.06
OVER-THE-MONTH PERCENT CHANGE
Real average hourly earnings(2)	-0.1	0.1	-0.1	-0.1
Real average weekly earnings(2)	-0.3	-0.2	-0.2	-0.1
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers	0.3	0.1	0.5	0.2
Average hourly earnings	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.1
Average weekly hours	-0.3	-0.3	0.0	0.0
Average weekly earnings	0.0	-0.1	0.3	0.1
OVER-THE-YEAR PERCENT CHANGE
Real average hourly earnings(2)	2.6	1.9	1.7	1.7
Real average weekly earnings(2)	2.3	1.6	1.4	1.6
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers	-0.5	0.5	0.9	0.7
Average hourly earnings	2.1	2.4	2.5	2.4
Average weekly hours	-0.3	-0.3	-0.3	0.0
Average weekly earnings	1.8	2.1	2.2	2.4
Footnotes (1) Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory employees in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm payrolls. (2) The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used to deflate the earnings series for production and nonsupervisory employees. (p) Preliminary

Source: BLS