Real earnings, February 2010

Real average hourly earnings for all employees rose 0.1 percent from January to February, seasonally adjusted. This increase stems from a 0.1-percent increase in average hourly earnings while the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) remained unchanged.

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Real average weekly earnings fell 0.2 percent over the month, as a result of a 0.3-percent decline in the average work week offsetting the increase in real average hourly earnings. Over the past 6 months, real average weekly earnings have changed little.

Real average hourly earnings fell 0.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, from February 2009 to February 2010. A 0.9-percent decline in average weekly hours combined with the decrease in real average hourly earnings, resulted in a 1.2-percent decline in real average weekly earnings during this period.

These earnings data are from the Current Employment Statistics Program. Recent earnings are preliminary and subject to revision. To learn more, see "Real Earnings—February 2010" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-10-0318.