September 20, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Real average weekly earnings in August 2004

Real average weekly earnings increased by 0.3 percent from July to August after seasonal adjustment.

Real average weekly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls, percent change from previous month, August 2003-August 2004
[Chart data—TXT]

A 0.3-percent increase in average hourly earnings was partially offset by a 0.1-percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Average weekly hours were unchanged.

Average weekly earnings rose by 2.9 percent, seasonally adjusted, from August 2003 to August 2004. After deflation by the CPI-W, average weekly earnings increased by 0.4 percent.

These earnings data are from the Current Employment Statistics Program. These data are for production and nonsupervisory workers in private nonfarm establishments. Earnings data for July and August 2004 are preliminary and subject to revision. Find out more in "Real Earnings in August 2004" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-1807.

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