Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until
8:30 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, August 12, 2026

USDL- 26-1379

Technical information: (202) 691-6555 • cesinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/ces
Media contact:
(202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov

REAL EARNINGS – JULY 2026
All employees
Real average hourly earnings for all employees decreased 0.1 percent from June to July, seasonally
adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This result stems from an increase of 0.1
percent in average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.1 percent in the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).
Real average weekly earnings were unchanged over the month due to the change in real average hourly
earnings combined with no change in the average workweek.
Chart 1: Over-the-month percent change in real average hourly earnings for all employees, seasonally
adjusted, July 2025-July 2026
Percent Change

2.0

1.0

0.7
0.1

0.3

0.1

0.0
-0.1

0

-0.3

-1.0

-2.0

Jul '25

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

-0.6

-0.5

Mar

Apr

NOTE: The Oct and Nov 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

-0.1

-0.2

May

Jun

Jul '26

From July 2025 to July 2026, real average hourly earnings decreased 0.2 percent, seasonally adjusted.
The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a 0.3-percent increase in the average
workweek resulted in a 0.1-percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period.
Production and nonsupervisory employees
Real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees were unchanged from June
to July, seasonally adjusted. This result stems from a 0.1-percent increase in average hourly earnings
combined with an increase of 0.1 percent in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and
Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
Real average weekly earnings increased 0.1 percent over the month.
Chart 2: Over-the-month percent change in real average hourly earnings for production and
nonsupervisory employees, seasonally adjusted, June 2025-June 2026
Percent Change

2.0

0.8

1.0

0.0

0.0

0.3

0.0
-0.1

0.0

-0.1

-1.0

-2.0

0.0
-0.3

-0.3

Apr

May

-0.8

Jul '25

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Jun

Jul '26

NOTE: The Oct and Nov 2025 data values are not available due to the 2025 lapse in appropriations.

From July 2025 to July 2026, real average hourly earnings decreased 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted.
The change in real average hourly earnings combined with an increase of 0.3 percent in the average
workweek resulted in a 0.2-percent increase in real average weekly earnings over this period.
___________
The Real Earnings news release for August 2026 is scheduled to be published on Friday,
September 11, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

Table A-1. Current and real (constant 1982-1984 dollars) earnings for all employees on private nonfarm
payrolls, seasonally adjusted
July
2025

May
2026

June
2026p

July
2026p

Real average hourly earnings1......................................................... .
Real average weekly earnings1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. .
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average hourly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............... .
Average weekly hours................................................................... .
Average weekly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$11.32
$387.15
322.169
$36.47
34.2
$1,247.27

$11.23
$385.03
333.979
$37.49
34.3
$1,285.91

$11.31
$387.79
332.568
$37.60
34.3
$1,289.68

$11.30
$387.72
332.813
$37.62
34.3
$1,290.37

OVER-THE-MONTH PERCENT CHANGE
Real average hourly earnings1......................................................... .
Real average weekly earnings1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. .
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average hourly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............... .
Average weekly hours................................................................... .
Average weekly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0.1
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.0
0.3

-0.2
-0.3
0.5
0.2
0.0
0.2

0.7
0.7
-0.4
0.3
0.0
0.3

-0.1
0.0
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.1

OVER-THE-YEAR PERCENT CHANGE
Real average hourly earnings1......................................................... .
Real average weekly earnings1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. .
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Average hourly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............... .
Average weekly hours................................................................... .
Average weekly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.2
1.2
2.7
4.0
0.0
4.0

-0.8
-0.5
4.2
3.3
0.3
3.6

0.0
0.2
3.5
3.4
0.3
3.7

-0.2
0.1
3.3
3.2
0.3
3.5

1

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is used to deflate the earnings series for all employees.
p Preliminary

Table A-2. Current and real (constant 1982-1984 dollars) earnings for production and nonsupervisory
employees on private nonfarm payrolls, seasonally adjusted1
July
2025

May
2026

June
2026p

July
2026p

Real average hourly earnings2......................................................... .
Real average weekly earnings2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. .
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. . . . . . . . . . .
Average hourly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............... .
Average weekly hours................................................................... .
Average weekly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$9.95
$335.45
315.354
$31.39
33.7
$1,057.84

$9.86
$333.26
327.694
$32.31
33.8
$1,092.08

$9.94
$335.88
325.641
$32.36
33.8
$1,093.77

$9.94
$336.08
325.850
$32.40
33.8
$1,095.12

OVER-THE-MONTH PERCENT CHANGE
Real average hourly earnings2......................................................... .
Real average weekly earnings2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. .
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. . . . . . . . . . .
Average hourly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............... .
Average weekly hours................................................................... .
Average weekly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0.0
0.4
0.2
0.3
0.3
0.6

-0.3
-0.3
0.6
0.2
0.0
0.2

0.8
0.8
-0.6
0.2
0.0
0.2

0.0
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.1

OVER-THE-YEAR PERCENT CHANGE
Real average hourly earnings2......................................................... .
Real average weekly earnings2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. .
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. . . . . . . . . . .
Average hourly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............... .
Average weekly hours................................................................... .
Average weekly earnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.4
1.5
2.6
4.1
0.0
4.1

-0.8
-0.2
4.4
3.6
0.6
4.2

-0.1
0.5
3.5
3.4
0.6
4.0

-0.1
0.2
3.3
3.2
0.3
3.5

1

Data relate to production employees in mining and logging and manufacturing, construction employees in construction, and nonsupervisory
employees in the service-providing industries. These groups account for approximately four-fifths of the total employment on private nonfarm
payrolls.
2
The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used to deflate the earnings series for production and
nonsupervisory employees.
p Preliminary

Technical Note
The earnings series presented in this release are
derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’
Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, a
monthly establishment survey of employment, payroll,
and hours. The deflators used for constant-dollar
earnings series presented in this release come from the
Consumer Price Indexes Program. The Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is used to
deflate earnings for the all employees series, while the
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and
Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used to deflate earnings
for the production and nonsupervisory employees
series.
Seasonally adjusted data are used for estimates of
percent change from the same month a year ago
for current and constant average hourly and weekly
earnings. Special techniques are applied to the CES
hours and earnings data in the seasonal adjustment
process to mitigate the effect of certain calendarrelated fluctuations. Thus, over- the-year changes of
these hours and earnings are best measured using
seasonally adjusted series. A discussion of the
calendar-related fluctuations in the hours and
earnings data and the special techniques to
remove them is available at https://www.bls.gov/
opub/hom/ces/calculation.htm#seasonal-adjustment.
Earnings series from the monthly establishment
survey are estimated arithmetic averages (means) of
the hourly and weekly earnings of all jobs in the
private nonfarm sector of the economy, as well as of
all production and nonsupervisory jobs in the private
nonfarm
sector of the economy. Average hourly
earnings estimates are derived by dividing the
estimated industry payroll by the corresponding paid
hours. Average weekly hours estimates are similarly
derived by dividing estimated aggregate hours by the
corresponding number of jobs. Average weekly
earnings
estimates
are
derived
by
multiplying the average hourly earnings and the
average weekly hours estimates. This is equivalent
to dividing the estimated payroll by the
corresponding number of jobs. The weekly and
hourly earnings estimates for aggregate industries,
such as the total private sector averages printed
in this release, are derived by summing the
corresponding payroll, hours, and employment
estimates of the component industries. As a result,
each industry receives a "weight" in the
published averages that
corresponds
to
its
current level of activity (employment or total
hours). This further implies that fluctuations and
varying
trends
in
employment
in
highwage
versus
low-wage
industries
as
well as wage rate changes influence the earnings
averages.

There are several characteristics of the series
presented in this release that limit their suitability
for some types of economic analyses. (1) The
denominator for the all employee weekly earnings
series is the number of private nonfarm jobs.
Similarly, the denominator of the production and
nonsupervisory employee weekly earnings series is
the number of private nonfarm production and
nonsupervisory employee jobs. This number includes
full-time and part-time jobs as well as the jobs held
by multiple jobholders in the private nonfarm sector.
These factors tend to result in weekly earnings
averages significantly lower than the corresponding
numbers for full-time jobs. (2) Annual earnings
averages can differ significantly from the result
obtained by multiplying average weekly earnings
times 52 weeks. The difference may be due to factors
such as turnovers and layoffs. (3) The series are the
average earnings of all employees or all production
and nonsupervisory jobs, not the earnings average of
"typical" jobs or jobs held by "typical" workers.
Specifically, there are no
adjustments
for
occupational, age, or schooling variations or for
household type or location. Many studies have
established the significance of these factors and that
their impact varies over time.
Seasonally adjusted data are preferred by some
users for analyzing general earnings trends in the
economy since they eliminate the effect of changes
that normally occur at the same time and in about the
same magnitude each year and, therefore, reveal the
underlying trends and cyclical movements. Changes in
average earnings may be due to seasonal changes in
the proportion of workers in high-wageand low-wage
industries or occupations or to seasonal changes in the
amount of overtime work, and so on.
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