Inflation Adjusted Average Hourly Earnings Below February 2026 Levels

Real average hourly earnings for production workers remain below February levels across multiple inflation metrics.

Source: DepositPhotos

They’re all lower than they were in February … but deflated using CPI ex shelter (mimicking HICP), they’re down 1.4%.

Figure 1: Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers deflated by CPI – all urban (black),  CPI wage earners and clerical workers (purple), chained CPI (light green), CPI ex-shelter (blue), AIER Everyday Price Index (red), all in 2025$. Source: BLS, AIER, ad author’s calculations.

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