Wire Embargo Until — 1996-08-13

Real average weekly earnings fell by 1.5 percent from June to July after seasonal adjustment, according to preliminary data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. This decrease followed a sharp increase in June (2.2 percent). The large decrease in July resulted from declines in both average weekly hours (1.2 percent) and average hourly earnings (0.2 percent). A 0.2 percent rise in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) also contributed to the decline. 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.