December 17, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Real earnings in October 2004

Real average weekly earnings fell by 0.4 percent from September to October after seasonal adjustment.

Composition of change in real average weekly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls, October 2004
[Chart data—TXT]

A 0.3-percent increase in average hourly earnings was more than offset by a 0.6-percent rise 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 October 2003 to October 2004. After deflation by the CPI-W, average weekly earnings decreased by 0.4 percent over the year.

These earnings data are from the Current Employment Statistics Program. These data are for production and nonsupervisory workers in private nonfarm establishments. Earnings data are preliminary and subject to revision. Find out more in "Real Earnings in October 2004" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-2341.