Real hourly earnings fall 0.4 percent over the year

Real average hourly earnings for all employees fell by 0.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, from February 2010 to February 2011. Real average weekly earnings increased 0.2 percent over the year, as a 0.6-percent increase in average weekly hours combined with the 0.4-percent decrease in real average hourly earnings.

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Real average hourly earnings for all employees fell 0.5 percent from January to February, seasonally adjusted. This decrease stemmed from a 0.5 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), while average hourly earnings remained unchanged.

Real average weekly earnings fell 0.5 percent over the month, as a result of the average workweek remaining unchanged combined with the decline in real average hourly earnings.

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics program and are for all employees in private nonfarm establishments. See "Real Earnings – February 2011" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-11-0351, to learn more. Earnings data for the most recent two months are preliminary and subject to revision.