By Jeffrey Sparshott
By one measure, wages for most U.S. workers peaked more than four decades ago.
Adjusted for inflation, average weekly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees–the bulk of the workforce–topped out in October 1972, according to the Labor Department. In today’s dollar, that weekly paycheck was the equivalent of about $811, compared with just under $703 a week last month.
Data released Friday showed real average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory employees fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% from February to March, and real average weekly earnings decreased by 0.4%, underscoring soft wage gains during this recovery. From a year earlier, inflation-adjusted hourly and weekly earnings increased by 2.3% percent.
Read More By One Measure, Wages for Most U.S. Workers Peaked in 1972 – Real Time Economics – WSJ.
