August 21, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Real earnings, July 2006

Real average weekly earnings decreased by 0.1 percent from June 2006 to July 2006 after seasonal adjustment.

Composition of change in real average weekly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls, July 2006
[Chart data—TXT]

A 0.4-percent increase in average hourly earnings was more than offset by a 0.5-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 4.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, from July 2005 to July 2006. After deflation by the CPI-W, average weekly earnings decreased by 0.1 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 are preliminary and subject to revision. Find out more in "Real Earnings in July 2006" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-1444.