Really, You're Earning Less Money

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pickpocket wallet robber burglar

Wikimedia Commons

Don't mind the pickpocket.

Does your paycheck feel lighter this month?

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Real average hourly earnings decreased 0.2% in September from August, the BLS reported today, due to flat wages and a 0.1% increase in CPI.

Real average weekly earnings, on the other hand, increased by 0.2% thanks to a 0.3% increase in weekly hours.

Year-over-year, both real average hourly earnings and average weekly hours are up 0.3%, resulting in a 0.6% increase in average weekly earnings.

The story remains the same: even as the economy recovers, wage growth is basically non-existent - and that's bad for the vast majority of Americans.

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Here's the full BLS release:

All employees

Real average hourly earnings for all employees fell 0.2 percent from August to September, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This result stems from unchanged average hourly earnings combined with a 0.1 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).

Real average weekly earnings increased by 0.2 percent over the month due to a 0.3 percent increase in the average workweek more than offsetting the decline in real average hourly earnings.

Real average hourly earnings increased by 0.3 percent, seasonally adjusted, from September 2013 to
September 2014. This gain in real average hourly earnings, combined with a 0.3 percent increase in the average workweek, resulted in a 0.6 percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period.

Production and nonsupervisory employees

Real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees decreased 0.1 percent from August to September, seasonally adjusted. This decline stems from no change in average hourly earnings combined with a 0.1 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

Real average weekly earnings decreased 0.4 percent over the month due to the decline in real average hourly earnings combined with a 0.3 percent decrease in the average workweek.

Real average hourly earnings increased 0.7 percent, seasonally adjusted, from September 2013 to
September 2014. The increase in real average hourly earnings, combined with a 0.3 percent gain in the average workweek, resulted in a 1.0 percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period.