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Real average weekly earnings up 0.9 percent over the year ended in March 2018

April 17, 2018

Average hourly earnings increased 2.7 percent, seasonally adjusted, from March 2017 to March 2018. The increase in average hourly earnings combined with a 0.6-percent increase in the average workweek and a 2.4-percent change in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) resulted in a 0.9-percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period.

12-month percent change in real average weekly earnings, average hourly earnings, and average weekly hours for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls, and CPI-U, seasonally adjusted, January 2017–March 2018
Month Real average weekly earnings Average hourly earnings Average weekly hours     CPI-U    

Jan 2017

-0.7% 2.4% -0.6% 2.5%

Feb 2017

-0.3 2.7 -0.3 2.8

Mar 2017

-0.1 2.6 -0.3 2.4

Apr 2017

0.3 2.5 0.0 2.2

May 2017

0.6 2.5 0.0 1.9

Jun 2017

0.8 2.5 0.0 1.6

Jul 2017

0.7 2.5 0.0 1.7

Aug 2017

0.9 2.6 0.3 2.0

Sep 2017

0.3 2.8 -0.3 2.2

Oct 2017

0.2 2.3 0.0 2.0

Nov 2017

0.8 2.5 0.6 2.2

Dec 2017

0.8 2.7 0.3 2.1

Jan 2018

0.6 2.8 0.0 2.1

Feb 2018

0.6 2.6 0.3 2.3

Mar 2018

0.9 2.7 0.6 2.4

Note: The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is used to deflate the earnings series for all employees. Data for the most recent month are preliminary.

From March 2016 to March 2017, real average weekly earnings decreased 0.1 percent, as average hourly earnings increased 2.6 percent, while average weekly hours decreased by 0.3 percent and the CPI-U increased by 2.4 percent.

Over the January 2017 to March 2018 period, the 12-month change in real average weekly earnings ranged from −0.7 percent to 0.9 percent.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "Real Earnings — March 2018" (HTML) (PDF). The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, from the Consumer Price Index program, is used to adjust earnings for all employees for inflation. Data for the most recent month are preliminary.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Real average weekly earnings up 0.9 percent over the year ended in March 2018 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/real-average-weekly-earnings-up-0-point-9-percent-over-the-year-ended-in-march-2018.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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