March 6, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Hourly earnings up 4 cents

Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 4 cents in February to $13.53, seasonally adjusted. This followed a gain of 5 cents (as revised) in January.

Average hourly earnings, production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls, Jan. 1997-Feb. 2000
[Chart data—TXT]

Over the month, average weekly earnings were essentially unchanged at $466.79, seasonally adjusted. Over the year, average hourly earnings rose by 3.6 percent, and average weekly earnings increased by 3.3 percent.

These data are a product of the BLS Current Employment Statistics program. Find out more in "The Employment Situation: February 2000," news release USDL 00-63. Data for January and February 2000 are preliminary.