Chart: Real earnings fall 0.4 percent in December

Real average hourly earnings for all employees fell 0.4 percent from November to December 2010, seasonally adjusted. This decrease stems from a 0.5 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), which offset a 0.1 percent increase in average hourly earnings.

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From November to December 2010, real average weekly earnings fell 0.4 percent, as the average work week remained unchanged and combined with the decline in real average hourly earnings.

From December 2009 to December 2010, real average hourly earnings rose 0.4 percent, seasonally adjusted. A 1.5-percent increase in average weekly hours, combined with the increase in real average hourly earnings, resulted in a 1.9-percent increase in real average weekly earnings during this period.

This earnings data is from the Current Employment Statistics program. Earnings data for November and December is preliminary and subject to revision. To learn more, see "Real Earnings — December 2010" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-11-0019.