Real earnings in September 2012

Real average hourly earnings for all employees fell 0.3 percent from August to September, seasonally adjusted. A 0.3-percent increase in average hourly earnings was more than offset by a 0.6-percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

[Chart data]

Real average weekly earnings were unchanged over the month, as a result of the decrease in real average hourly earnings combined with a 0.3-percent increase in the average workweek. Since reaching a peak in October 2010, real average weekly earnings have fallen 1.3 percent.

Over the year (September 2011 to September 2012), real average hourly earnings fell 0.2 percent, seasonally adjusted. The decrease in real average hourly earnings, combined with a 0.3-percent increase in the average workweek, resulted in a 0.1-percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period.

These earnings data are from the Current Employment Statistics program. Earnings data for August and September are preliminary and subject to revision. To learn more, see “Real Earnings — September 2012” (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-12-2071. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers from the Consumer Price Indexes program is used to deflate the all employees data.