Average Hourly Earnings (Wage Growth)
Average hourly earnings track the pay of all private-sector employees, published monthly by the BLS in the same Establishment Survey that produces nonfarm payrolls. The year-over-year change is the most-watched gauge of US wage growth — and one of the inputs the Fed weighs most heavily for inflation persistence.
After inflation: −0.2% (August 2026, CPI-adjusted)
YoY %
- Hourly wage
- $37.81
Next release: Nov 6, 2026
Latest reading
As of September 2026, Wage Growth (YoY %) stands at 3.0% — down from 3.1% the prior reading, 5.1 pp below the April 2020 record of 8.1%. After inflation, hourly wages fell 0.2% over the year to August 2026. The latest reading ($37.81, September 2026) is a record in nominal dollars, but after inflation the record belongs to April 2020: $39.20 in August 2026 dollars, so the latest reading is 3.6% below it. That spring 2020 peak is a composition effect: low-wage jobs disappeared first, which raised the average without a matching rise in pay rates. Wage growth around 3% is broadly consistent with the Fed's 2% inflation target plus trend productivity. Sustained readings above ~4% signal wage pressure that can keep services inflation sticky; cooling wage growth alongside stable employment is the textbook soft-landing combination. One caveat: composition effects distort the average — when low-wage workers are laid off first, measured wages can rise even as the labor market weakens. Series history runs from 2006 to present.
Sources, methodology & freshnessBLS Establishment Survey via FRED (CES0500000003), monthly, seasonally adjusted · Monthly, with every releaseData as of 2026-09-01 · Open ↓Close ↑
Full history
Year-over-year %
Real wage growth (after inflation)
Average hourly earnings after CPI inflation, against the same month a year earlier. Below zero, pay is losing ground to prices. The spring 2020 jump is a composition effect: low-wage jobs disappeared first, which raised the average without a matching rise in pay rates.
Deflated by CPI-U (BLS), matched by month; the latest months appear once CPI is published.
Real hourly wage (August 2026 dollars)
Average hourly earnings restated in August 2026 dollars, so every month buys the same basket as today. The spring 2020 jump is a composition effect: low-wage jobs disappeared first, which raised the average without a matching rise in pay rates.
Deflated by CPI-U (BLS), matched by month; the latest months appear once CPI is published.
Wage level ($/hr)
Average hourly earnings of all private-sector employees, in dollars per hour — the pay level the year-over-year wage-growth rate is computed from.
Methodology & data
Wage Growth is sourced from BLS via the Federal Reserve's FRED service (BLS Establishment Survey via FRED (CES0500000003), monthly, seasonally adjusted). We pull the complete history, chart it on a monthly basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date. Latest observation 2026-09-01; site refreshed 2026-10-05. Maintained and reviewed by Yuriy Matso; see our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Average Hourly Earnings (Wage Growth)?
Average hourly earnings track the pay of all private-sector employees, published monthly by the BLS in the same Establishment Survey that produces nonfarm payrolls. The year-over-year change is the most-watched gauge of US wage growth — and one of the inputs the Fed weighs most heavily for inflation persistence.
How do you read Wage Growth?
Wage growth around 3% is broadly consistent with the Fed's 2% inflation target plus trend productivity. Sustained readings above ~4% signal wage pressure that can keep services inflation sticky; cooling wage growth alongside stable employment is the textbook soft-landing combination. One caveat: composition effects distort the average — when low-wage workers are laid off first, measured wages can rise even as the labor market weakens.
Where does the Wage Growth data come from?
BLS Establishment Survey via FRED (CES0500000003), monthly, seasonally adjusted. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/average-hourly-earnings.csv.
How often is Wage Growth updated?
Wage Growth is a monthly series from BLS, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts to FRED.
After inflation: −0.2% (August 2026, CPI-adjusted)
YoY %
- Hourly wage
- $37.81
Next release: Nov 6, 2026