January 20, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Another real raise in 1998
Average hourly earnings increased 3.7 percent
during 1998, similar to the annual increase of 3.8 percent in 1997. After adjustment
for price increases, real hourly earnings were up 2.1 percent. With lower retail price
inflation over the past two years, the gap has narrowed between real and unadjusted
raises.
![Annual percent change in average and real average hourly earnings, 1994-98](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120925101617im_/http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/images/1999/jan/wk3/art02.gif)
[Chart data—TXT]
Workers on private nonfarm payrolls earned an average of $12.99 per hour
in December 1998, up from $12.53 in December 1997. The increased hourly earnings
coupled with a 0.3 percent decline in average weekly hours produced an average weekly
raise of 3.4 percent from December 1997 to December 1998. Average weekly earnings
were $450.75 in December 1998, compared with $436.04 a year earlier. Real
(price-adjusted) average weekly earnings grew by 1.8 percent over the same time
period.
Hourly and weekly earnings data for production and nonsupervisory workers on private
nonfarm payrolls are produced by the Current
Employment Statistics program, while data on price changes are provided
by the Consumer Price Index program. More
information can be found in news release USDL 99-06, "The Employment Situation: December
1998", USDL 99-11, "Consumer
Price Index: December 1998", and USDL 99-12, "Real Earnings in December
1998". Yearly comparisons are based on changes in not
seasonally adjusted data between December 1997 and December 1998. Retail price
changes used here are measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and
Clerical Workers (CPI-W). Hours and earnings data for December 1998 are preliminary
and subject to revision.
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Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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Read more »