Real earnings in May 2012

June 18, 2012

Real average hourly earnings for all employees rose 0.3 percent from April to May, seasonally adjusted. The increase stems from a 0.1-percent gain in average hourly earnings and a 0.3-percent decline in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

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Real average weekly earnings rose 0.1 percent over the month, resulting from the increase in real average hourly earnings combined with a 0.3-percent decline in the average workweek. Since reaching a peak in October 2010, real average weekly earnings have fallen 1.1 percent.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics and Consumer Price Index programs. To learn more, see "Real Earnings — May 2012" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-12-1182. Earnings data for the most recent 2 months are preliminary and subject to revision. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is used to deflate the all employees data series.