COVID-19 recovery hopes shine as real average hourly earnings for all employees rise

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2. US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 0.2% rise in real average earnings of all employees

• Rise is a result of a 0.6% rise in average hourly earnings and 0.4% rise in CPI for All Urban Consumers

A slight increase in real average hourly earnings for all employees is seen as an indication of budding economic recovery after the massive slump induced by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Real average hourly earnings for all employees have risen 0.2% from August to September, seasonally adjusted, a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report says.

The rise is the result of a 0.6% increase in average hourly earnings combined with a 0.4% increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

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Real average weekly earnings increased 0.8% over the month due to the change in real average hourly earnings combined with a 0.6% increase in the average workweek. 

Nonsupervisory employees

However, the seasonally adjusted real average hourly earnings fell 0.8% year on year for September 2021. The change in real average hourly earnings coupled with no change in the average workweek resulted in a 0.8% fall in real average weekly earnings over the period.

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Real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees increased 0.2% from August to September, seasonally adjusted. This result stems from a 0.5% increase in average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.4% in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

A 0.4% rise in real average weekly earnings over the month is attributed to a change in real average hourly earnings and a 0.3% rise in average weekly hours.

From September 2020 to September 2021, real average hourly earnings fell 0.4%, the report said. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a 0.3% rise in the average workweek led to a 0.1% decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period.