Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until	                      USDL-20-1187
8:30 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, June 10, 2020

Technical Information:	(202) 691-6555  *  cesinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/ces
Media Contact:	        (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov

REAL EARNINGS – MAY 2020

All employees

Real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 0.9 percent from April to May, seasonally
adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This result stems from a decrease of 1.0
percent in average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 0.1 percent in the Consumer Price Index
for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

Real average weekly earnings increased 0.5 percent over the month due to the change in real average
hourly earnings combined with a 1.5-percent increase in the average workweek.

Real average hourly earnings increased 6.5 percent, seasonally adjusted, from May 2019 to May 2020.
The change in real average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.9 percent in the average
workweek resulted in 7.4-percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period.


Production and nonsupervisory employees

Real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees decreased 0.5 percent from
April to May, seasonally adjusted. This result stems from a 0.6-percent decrease in average hourly
earnings combined with no change in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical
Workers (CPI-W).

Real average weekly earnings increased 1.3 percent over the month due to the change in real average
hourly earnings combined with a 1.8-percent increase in average weekly hours.

From May 2019 to May 2020, real average hourly earnings increased 6.8 percent, seasonally adjusted.
The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a 1.5-percent increase in the average
workweek resulted in an 8.3-percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period.


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*                       Coronavirus (COVID-19) Impact on May 2020 Establishment Survey Data            *
*                                                                                                      *
*   Earnings data from the establishment survey for May reflect a limited resumption of economic       *
*   activity that had been curtailed in March and April due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and *
*    efforts to contain it. The "Frequently Asked Questions" at                                         *
*    www.bls.gov/cps/employment-situation-covid19-faq-may-2020.pdf address questions about the impact  *
*    of the pandemic on the establishment survey (Current Employment Statistics, or CES) for May 2020. *
*                                                                                                      *
********************************************************************************************************

_____________
Real Earnings for June 2020 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, July 14, 2020 at 8:30 a.m.
(EDT).

Technical Note



The earnings series presented in this release are
derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current
Employment Statistics (CES) survey, a monthly
establishment survey of employment, payroll, and hours.
The deflators used for constant-dollar earnings series
presented in this release come from the Consumer Price
Indexes Program. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban
Consumers (CPI-U) is used to deflate earnings for the all
employees series, while the Consumer Price Index for
Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used
to deflate earnings for the production and nonsupervisory
employees series.

Seasonally adjusted data are used for estimates of
percent change from the same month a year ago for
current and constant average hourly and weekly earnings.
Special techniques are applied to the CES hours and
earnings data in the seasonal adjustment process to
mitigate the effect of certain calendar-related
fluctuations. Thus, over-the-year changes of these hours
and earnings are best measured using seasonally adjusted
series. A discussion of the calendar-related fluctuations
in the hours and earnings data and the special techniques
to remove them is available in the February 2004 issue
of Employment and Earnings or at
www.bls.gov/ces/cesfltxt.htm.

Earnings series from the monthly establishment survey
are estimated arithmetic averages (means) of the hourly
and weekly earnings of all jobs in the private nonfarm
sector of the economy, as well as of all production and
nonsupervisory jobs in the private nonfarm sector of the
economy. Average hourly earnings estimates are derived by
dividing the estimated industry payroll by the
corresponding paid hours. Average weekly hours estimates
are similarly derived by dividing estimated aggregate
hours by the corresponding number of jobs. Average weekly
earnings estimates are derived by multiplying the
average hourly earnings and the average weekly hours
estimates. This is equivalent to dividing the estimated
payroll by the corresponding  number of jobs. The
weekly and hourly earnings estimates for aggregate
industries, such as the total private sector averages
printed in this release, are derived by summing the
corresponding payroll, hours, and employment estimates
of the component industries. As a result, each industry
receives a "weight" in the published averages that
corresponds to its current level of activity (employment
or total hours). This further implies that fluctuations
and varying trends in employment in high-wage versus
low-wage industries as well as wage rate changes influence
the earnings averages.

There are several characteristics of the series presented
in this release that limit their suitability for some types
of economic analyses. (1) The denominator for the all
employee weekly earnings series is the number of private
nonfarm jobs.  Similarly, the denominator of the production
and nonsupervisory employee weekly earnings series is the
number of private nonfarm production and nonsupervisory
employee jobs. This number includes full-time and part-time
jobs as well as the jobs held by multiple jobholders in
the private nonfarm sector. These factors tend to result
in weekly earnings averages significantly lower than the
corresponding numbers for full-time jobs. (2) Annual
earnings averages can differ significantly from the result
obtained by multiplying average weekly earnings times
52 weeks. The difference may be due to factors such as
turnovers and layoffs. (3) The series are the average
earnings of all employees or all production and
nonsupervisory jobs, not the earnings average of "typical"
jobs or jobs held by "typical" workers. Specifically, there
are no adjustments for occupational, age, or schooling
variations or for household type or location. Many studies
have established the significance of these factors and that
their impact varies over time.

Seasonally adjusted data are preferred by some users for
analyzing general earnings trends in the economy since
they eliminate the effect of changes that normally occur
at the same time and in about the same magnitude each year
and, therefore, reveal the underlying trends and cyclical
movements. Changes in average earnings may be due to seasonal
changes in the proportion of workers in high-wage and
low-wage industries or occupations or to seasonal changes
in the amount of overtime work, and so on.

For more information, see Thomas Gavett, "Measures of Change
in Real Wages and Earnings," Monthly Labor Review,
February 1972.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory
impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200;
TDD Message Referral Phone Number: 1-800-877-8339.