The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released June 2010 figures for Real Earnings. The Real Earnings indicator reflects three components of consumers’ buying power: average hourly earnings, average weekly hours, and price inflation/deflation. Figures are a weighted average across industries and reflect the earnings of workers who are in the private, non-farm sector in mining, construction, manufacturing, and service-providing industries (about 80% of the total workers on private, non-farm payrolls).
From May to June, real average hourly earnings increased 0.1%, seasonally adjusted, due to a 0.1% decrease in the average hourly earnings and a 0.1% decrease in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The following chart illustrates the monthly percent change in real average hourly earnings; over the last 12 months, there has been little noticeable increase in pay.
The following tables summarize the components – and percentage change in components – of Real Earnings, seasonally adjusted.
Components of Real Earnings (Seasonally Adjusted)
Percentage Change in Components of Real Earnings (Seasonally Adjusted)
The full press release can be found on the BLS website (PDF).
