Real Earnings - March 2026
Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until 8:30 am (ET) May 5, 2026
USDL-33-3333
Top Takeaways
1-month percent change
-0.6%
Real average hourly earnings of all employees
12-month percent change
+0.3%
Real average hourly earnings of all employees
Abstract
REALER NextGen Test 5/5/2026 - Real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 0.6 percent from February to March, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
All employees, private sector, percent changes
Real average hourly earnings of all employees, 1-month percent change, seasonally adjusted, March 2025 to March 2026
| Month |
Real average hourly earnings of all employees |
Mar 2025 |
0.4% |
Apr 2025 |
-0.1% |
May 2025 |
0.4% |
June 2025 |
-0.1% |
July 2025 |
0.1% |
Aug 2025 |
0.1% |
Sept 2025 |
-0.1% |
Oct 2025 |
|
Nov 2025 |
|
Dec 2025 |
-0.3% |
Jan 2026 |
0.3% |
Feb 2026 |
0.1% |
Mar 2026 |
-0.6% |
Hourly, 1 month
- Real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 0.6 percent from February to March, seasonally adjusted.
- This result stems from an increase of 0.2 percent in average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.9 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).
Real average weekly earnings of all employees, 1-month percent change, seasonally adjusted, March 2025 to March 2026
| Month |
Real average weekly earnings of all employees |
Mar 2025 |
0.4% |
Apr 2025 |
0.2% |
May 2025 |
0.0% |
June 2025 |
0.0% |
July 2025 |
0.1% |
Aug 2025 |
0.1% |
Sept 2025 |
-0.1% |
Oct 2025 |
|
Nov 2025 |
|
Dec 2025 |
-0.5% |
Jan 2026 |
0.5% |
Feb 2026 |
0.1% |
Mar 2026 |
-0.9% |
Weekly, 1 month
- Real average weekly earnings for all employees decreased 0.9 percent in March.
- This change is due to a decrease of 0.6 percent in real average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 0.3 percent in the average workweek.
Real average hourly earnings of all employees, 12-month percent change, seasonally adjusted, March 2025 to March 2026
| Month |
Real average hourly earnings of all employees |
Mar 2025 |
1.8% |
Apr 2025 |
1.6% |
May 2025 |
1.6% |
June 2025 |
1.2% |
July 2025 |
1.2% |
Aug 2025 |
1.1% |
Sept 2025 |
0.8% |
Oct 2025 |
|
Nov 2025 |
1.2% |
Dec 2025 |
1.0% |
Jan 2026 |
1.2% |
Feb 2026 |
1.3% |
Mar 2026 |
0.3% |
Hourly, 12 month
- Real average hourly earnings for all employees increased 0.3 percent, seasonally adjusted, from March 2025 to March 2026.
Real average weekly earnings of all employees, 12-month percent change, seasonally adjusted, March 2025 to March 2026
| Month |
Real average weekly earnings of all employees |
Mar 2025 |
1.2% |
Apr 2025 |
1.8% |
May 2025 |
1.3% |
June 2025 |
0.8% |
July 2025 |
1.2% |
Aug 2025 |
0.7% |
Sept 2025 |
0.5% |
Oct 2025 |
|
Nov 2025 |
1.2% |
Dec 2025 |
0.7% |
Jan 2026 |
1.8% |
Feb 2026 |
1.6% |
Mar 2026 |
0.2% |
Weekly, 12 month
- Real average weekly earnings for all employees increased 0.2 percent from March 2025 to March 2026.
- This change is due to an increase of 0.3 percent in real average hourly earnings combined with no change in the average workweek.
Real average hourly earnings of all employees by industry, 12-month percent change, seasonally adjusted, March 2026
| Industry |
Percent change |
Mining and logging |
-1.3% |
Construction |
1.1% |
Manufacturing |
0.5% |
Wholesale trade |
0.4% |
Retail trade |
0.8% |
Transportation and warehousing |
0.7% |
Utilities |
1.8% |
Information |
2.0% |
Financial activities |
0.7% |
Professional and business services |
0.4% |
Private education and health services |
-0.8% |
Leisure and hospitality |
0.0% |
Other services |
-0.1% |
Hourly by industry, 12 month
- The largest over-the-year percentage increases in real average hourly earnings for all employees were in information (+2.0 percent) and utilities (+1.8 percent).
- The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in real average hourly earnings for all employees were in mining and logging (-1.3 percent) and private education and health services (-0.8 percent).
Production and nonsupervisory employees, private sector, percent changes
Real average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees, 1-month percent change, seasonally adjusted, March 2025 to March 2026
| Month |
Real average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees |
Mar 2025 |
0.4% |
Apr 2025 |
0.1% |
May 2025 |
0.3% |
June 2025 |
0.1% |
July 2025 |
0.0% |
Aug 2025 |
0.0% |
Sept 2025 |
-0.1% |
Oct 2025 |
|
Nov 2025 |
|
Dec 2025 |
-0.1% |
Jan 2026 |
0.3% |
Feb 2026 |
0.0% |
Mar 2026 |
-0.9% |
Hourly, 1 month
- Real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees decreased 0.9 percent from February to March, seasonally adjusted.
- This result stems from an increase of 0.2 percent in average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 1.1 percent in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
Real average weekly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees, 1-month percent change, seasonally adjusted, March 2025 to March 2026
| Month |
Real average weekly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees |
Mar 2025 |
0.7% |
Apr 2025 |
0.1% |
May 2025 |
0.0% |
June 2025 |
0.1% |
July 2025 |
0.4% |
Aug 2025 |
0.0% |
Sept 2025 |
-0.1% |
Oct 2025 |
|
Nov 2025 |
|
Dec 2025 |
-0.4% |
Jan 2026 |
0.6% |
Feb 2026 |
0.0% |
Mar 2026 |
-0.9% |
Weekly, 1 month
- Real average weekly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees decreased 0.9 percent in March.
- This change is due to a decrease of 0.9 percent in real average hourly earnings combined with no change in the average workweek.
Real average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees, 12-month percent change, seasonally adjusted, March 2025 to March 2026
| Month |
Real average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees |
Mar 2025 |
2.0% |
Apr 2025 |
2.0% |
May 2025 |
1.9% |
June 2025 |
1.5% |
July 2025 |
1.4% |
Aug 2025 |
1.1% |
Sept 2025 |
0.9% |
Oct 2025 |
|
Nov 2025 |
1.2% |
Dec 2025 |
1.2% |
Jan 2026 |
1.5% |
Feb 2026 |
1.4% |
Mar 2026 |
0.1% |
Hourly, 12 month
- Real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees increased 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, from March 2025 to March 2026.
Real average weekly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees, 12-month percent change, seasonally adjusted, March 2025 to March 2026
| Month |
Real average weekly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees |
Mar 2025 |
1.6% |
Apr 2025 |
2.0% |
May 2025 |
1.6% |
June 2025 |
0.9% |
July 2025 |
1.5% |
Aug 2025 |
1.2% |
Sept 2025 |
0.9% |
Oct 2025 |
|
Nov 2025 |
1.6% |
Dec 2025 |
1.2% |
Jan 2026 |
2.1% |
Feb 2026 |
2.0% |
Mar 2026 |
0.4% |
Weekly, 12 month
- Real average weekly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees increased 0.4 percent from March 2025 to March 2026.
- This change is due to an increase of 0.1 percent in real average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.3 percent in the average workweek.
Real average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory employees by industry, 12-month percent change, seasonally adjusted, March 2026
| Industry |
Percent change |
Mining and logging |
-0.9% |
Construction |
1.7% |
Manufacturing |
0.2% |
Wholesale trade |
0.3% |
Retail trade |
0.0% |
Transportation and warehousing |
0.9% |
Utilities |
0.9% |
Information |
1.5% |
Financial activities |
1.5% |
Professional and business services |
-0.2% |
Private education and health services |
-1.3% |
Leisure and hospitality |
0.9% |
Other services |
-0.2% |
Hourly by industry, 12 month
- The largest over-the-year percentage increases in real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees were in construction (+1.7 percent), financial activities (+1.5 percent), and information (+1.5 percent).
- The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees were in private education and health services (-1.3 percent) and mining and logging (-0.9 percent).
Next Release
- May 12, 2026 at 8:30 am (ET)
What are real earnings?
Real earnings are average hourly and weekly earnings adjusted for inflation and expressed in constant 1982-84 dollars. Real earnings indicate the purchasing power of earnings after adjustment for changes over time in the prices of consumer goods and services. Average hourly and average weekly earnings are produced from the Current Employment Statistics-National survey for all private-sector, wage and salary employees (AE) and for private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees (PE). Real earnings for AE are deflated by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), while real earnings for PE are deflated by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
Changing mixes of full-time and part-time workers, high- and low-paid workers, and so on, affect long-term trends of real earnings data. Real earnings data cannot be used to measure changes in living standards, which are affected by other factors such as total family income, the extension and incidence of various social services and benefits, and the duration and extent of employment and unemployment.
United States Department of Labor
