Full text of Real Earnings : May 2002, USDL 02-345 : May 2002

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United States
Department
of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics

Washington, D.C. 20212

Internet Address: http://www.bls.gov/ces/
Technical information: (202) 691-6555
USDL 02-345
Media contact:
691-5902
TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL
IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED
UNTIL 8:30 AM EDT, TUESDAY,
JUNE 18, 2002
REAL EARNINGS IN MAY 2002
Real average weekly earnings increased by 0.3 percent from April to May
after seasonal adjustment, according to preliminary data released today by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. This was due to a
0.2 percent increase in average hourly earnings and a 0.1 percent decrease in
the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
Average weekly hours were unchanged.
Data on average weekly earnings are collected from the payroll reports of
private nonfarm establishments. Earnings of both full-time and part-time
workers holding production or nonsupervisory jobs are included. Real average
weekly earnings are calculated by adjusting earnings in current dollars for
changes in the CPI-W.
Average weekly earnings rose by 3.2 percent, seasonally adjusted, from May
2001 to May 2002. After deflation by the CPI-W, average weekly earnings rose
by 2.4 percent. Before adjustment for seasonal change and inflation, average
weekly earnings were $500.25 in May 2002, compared with $484.56 a year earlier.
_____________________________
Real Earnings for June 2002 will be released on Friday, July 19, 2002.
******************************************************************************
* The estimates of average weekly hours and average hourly and weekly
*
* earnings have been revised with the release of May data to reflect new
*
* employment benchmarks; the introduction of probability-based sample
*
* estimates for transportation and public utilities, retail trade, and
*
* finance, insurance, and real estate; and the updating of seasonal
*
* adjustment factors. Unadjusted data have been revised from April 2000
*
* forward. In addition, seasonally adjusted hours and earnings series have *
* been revised from January 1997 forward in accordance with the usual
*
* practice of revising 5 years of data.
*
******************************************************************************

Table A. Composition of change in real earnings of production or
nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls

Year
and
month

Average
hourly
earnings

Average
weekly
hours

Average
weekly
earnings

The
Consumer
Price
Index1

Real
average
weekly
earnings

Percent change from preceding month, seasonally adjusted
2001:
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
2002:
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.p
Mayp

0.2
.4
.3
.3
.3
.2
.4
.3

0.0
.0
.0
-.3
.0
-.3
.3
.0

0.2
.4
.3
.1
.3
-.1
.7
.3

0.4
.2
-.3
.0
.5
-.4
-.1
-.2

-0.2
.2
.6
.1
-.2
.3
.8
.6

.2
.2
.2
.1
.2

.0
.3
.0
.0
.0

.2
.5
.2
.1
.2

.2
.2
.3
.6
-.1

(2)
.3
-.1
-.4
.3

1
The deflator for the constant-dollar
series presented in this release is the
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage

Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
2 Less than 0.05 percent.
p
= preliminary.

Table B. Percent change in earnings from the same month a year ago for
production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls,
seasonally adjusted

Year
and
month

2001:
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
2002:
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.p
Mayp
1

Average hourly
earnings

Average weekly
earnings

Current
dollars

Constant
(1982) dollars1

Current
dollars

Constant
(1982) dollars1

4.2
4.1
4.1
4.1
4.1
3.8
3.9
3.8

0.5
.9
1.4
1.4
1.6
1.9
2.3
2.5

3.6
3.5
3.5
3.2
3.2
2.6
3.0
3.5

-0.1
.3
.9
.5
.7
.6
1.4
2.3

3.8
3.5
3.4
3.2
3.2

2.9
2.6
2.1
2.0
2.4

2.9
3.5
3.4
3.2
3.2

2.1
2.7
2.2
1.9
2.4

The deflator for the constant-dollar
series presented in this release is the
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage

Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
2 Less than 0.05 percent.
p
= preliminary.

Table 1. Earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls in current and constant
dollars1 by industry, not seasonally adjusted
Average hourly earnings
Industry

May
2001

Apr.
2002p

May
2002p

Total private:2
Current dollars ......................
Constant (1982) dollars ......

$14.21
7.89

$14.69
8.10

$14.67
8.09

Goods-producing:
Current dollars ......................
Constant (1982) dollars ......

15.83
8.79

16.26
8.96

Mining:
Current dollars ......................
Constant (1982) dollars ......

17.42
9.68

Construction:
Current dollars ......................
Constant (1982) dollars ......

Average weekly earnings

Percent
change
May 2001 May 2002

Percent
change
May 2001 May 2002

May
2001

Apr.
2002p

May
2002p

3.2
2.5

$484.56
269.20

$499.46
275.34

$500.25
275.77

3.2
2.4

16.30
8.99

3.0
2.3

642.70
357.06

653.65
360.34

658.52
363.02

2.5
1.7

17.68
9.75

17.68
9.75

1.5
.7

768.22
426.79

747.86
412.27

758.47
418.12

-1.3
-2.0

18.18
10.10

18.68
10.30

18.65
10.28

2.6
1.8

730.84
406.02

724.78
399.55

727.35
400.96

-.5
-1.2

Manufacturing:
Current dollars ......................
Constant (1982) dollars ......

14.75
8.19

15.20
8.38

15.23
8.40

3.3
2.6

600.33
333.52

620.16
341.87

622.91
343.39

3.8
3.0

Service-producing:
Current dollars ......................
Constant (1982) dollars ......

13.72
7.62

14.25
7.86

14.21
7.83

3.6
2.8

447.27
248.48

463.13
255.31

463.25
255.37

3.6
2.8

Transportation and public
utilities:
Current dollars ......................
Constant (1982) dollars ......

16.65
9.25

17.31
9.54

17.24
9.50

3.5
2.7

634.37
352.43

657.78
362.61

660.29
364.00

4.1
3.3

Wholesale trade:
Current dollars ......................
Constant (1982) dollars ......

15.71
8.73

16.09
8.87

16.09
8.87

2.4
1.6

600.12
333.40

614.64
338.83

616.25
339.72

2.7
1.9

Retail trade:
Current dollars ......................
Constant (1982) dollars ......

9.67
5.37

10.01
5.52

9.97
5.50

3.1
2.4

277.53
154.18

288.29
158.93

290.13
159.94

4.5
3.7

Finance, insurance,
and real estate:
Current dollars ......................
Constant (1982) dollars ......

15.72
8.73

16.23
8.95

16.20
8.93

3.1
2.3

559.63
310.91

581.03
320.30

579.96
319.71

3.6
2.8

Services:
Current dollars ......................
Constant (1982) dollars ......

14.52
8.07

15.15
8.35

15.13
8.34

4.2
3.3

471.90
262.17

490.86
270.60

490.21
270.24

3.9
3.1

1

The deflator for the constant-dollar series presented in
this release is the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage
Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).
2
Data relate to production and related workers in
mining and manufacturing; construction workers in
construction; and nonsupervisory workers in transportation

and public utilities, trade, finance, insurance, and real
estate, and services. Included in this group are
approximately four-fifths of all jobs on private industry
payrolls.
p
= preliminary.

Table 2. Earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm
payrolls1, seasonally adjusted

Average hourly
earnings

Average weekly
earnings

Year
and
month

2001:
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
2002:
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
Apr. p
May p
1
2

Current
dollars

Constant
(1982) dollars2

Current
dollars

Constant
(1982) dollars2

$14.24
14.29
14.33
14.38
14.43
14.46
14.52
14.56

$7.93
7.94
7.99
8.02
8.01
8.06
8.10
8.14

$487.01
488.72
490.09
490.36
492.06
491.64
495.13
496.50

$271.16
271.66
273.34
273.49
273.06
273.89
276.15
277.68

14.59
14.62
14.65
14.67
14.70

8.14
8.14
8.13
8.10
8.12

497.52
500.00
501.03
501.71
502.74

277.63
278.40
278.04
276.88
277.60

See footnote 2, table 1.
The deflator for the constant-dollar series
presented in this release is the Consumer Price

Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical
Workers (CPI-W).
p
= preliminary.

Table 3. Revised seasonally adjusted average hourly and weekly earnings of
production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls1 in constant (1982)
dollars
Average hourly earnings
Year

1997 ....................
1998 ....................
1999 ....................
2000 ....................
2001 ....................

1997 ....................
1998 ....................
1999 ....................
2000 ....................
2001 ....................

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

$7.46
7.65
7.83
7.89
7.91

$7.47
7.69
7.84
7.87
7.93

$7.50
7.72
7.86
7.85
7.96

$7.51
7.74
7.84
7.88
7.94

$7.53
7.74
7.87
7.89
7.93

$7.54
7.76
7.89
7.87
7.94

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

7.55
7.76
7.89
7.88
7.99

7.57
7.78
7.87
7.91
8.02

7.58
7.80
7.86
7.88
8.01

7.60
7.80
7.86
7.91
8.06

7.62
7.81
7.86
7.92
8.10

7.64
7.82
7.86
7.94
8.14

See footnotes at end of table.

Table 3. Revised seasonally adjusted average hourly and weekly earnings of
production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls1 in constant (1982)
dollars--Continued
Average weekly earnings

1997 ....................
1998 ....................
1999 ....................
2000 ....................
2001 ....................

1997 ....................
1998 ....................
1999 ....................
2000 ....................
2001 ....................

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

$256.72
266.25
270.82
272.10
271.99

$258.38
266.92
270.61
271.63
271.14

$259.44
267.00
270.49
270.70
272.10

$259.72
267.73
270.53
271.70
271.65

$260.57
268.69
271.35
271.35
271.16

$260.18
267.66
272.22
270.82
271.66

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

261.21
268.53
272.07
270.94
273.34

262.81
269.30
271.67
272.08
273.49

262.09
268.98
270.46
271.21
273.06

263.80
269.95
271.22
272.27
273.89

263.78
270.25
271.30
272.43
276.15

265.18
270.43
271.32
271.55
277.68

1
Data relate to production and related
workers
in
mining
and
manufacturing;
construction workers in construction; and
nonsupervisory workers in transportation and
public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance,

insurance, and real estate; and services.
NOTE: These data have been revised to reflect
the March 2001 benchmark and updated
seasonal adjustment factors.
p
= preliminary.