Real Earnings Summary

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until                          USDL-21-1974
8:30 a.m. (ET), Wednesday, November 10, 2021

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REAL EARNINGS – OCTOBER 2021

All employees

Real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 0.5 percent from September to October, 
seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This result stems from an 
increase of 0.4 percent in average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.9 percent in the 
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

Real average weekly earnings decreased 0.9 percent over the month due to the change in real average 
hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 0.3 percent in the average workweek.  

Real average hourly earnings decreased 1.2 percent, seasonally adjusted, from October 2020 to October 
2021. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 0.3 percent in the 
average workweek resulted in a 1.6-percent decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period.



Production and nonsupervisory employees

Real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees decreased 0.7 percent from 
September to October, seasonally adjusted. This result stems from a 0.4-percent increase in average 
hourly earnings combined with an increase of 1.1 percent in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage 
Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

Real average weekly earnings decreased 1.0 percent over the month due to the change in real average 
hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 0.3 percent in average weekly hours.

From October 2020 to October 2021, real average hourly earnings decreased 1.1 percent, seasonally 
adjusted. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a 0.3-percent decrease in the 
average workweek resulted in a 1.4-percent decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period. 


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Real Earnings for November 2021 is scheduled to be released on December 10, 2021 at 8:30 a.m. 
(ET).