Real Earnings Fall in October

By Nate Griffin – November 17th, 2021

According to the latest Real Earnings release by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, real hourly wages fell slightly in October to $11.19 (in 1984 dollars). Nominal average earnings did increase by 0.4 percent, but when accounting for the 0.9 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index, real wages fell 0.5 percent.

This is amid rising concerns of inflation among many economists. The fed released a statement in early November indicating they would begin tapering bond purchases in an effort to ease inflationary conditions. But, Jerome Powell said he felt inflationary conditions would last into next year.

Since October of 2021, average real wages have fallen by about 1.2 percent.

With much of inflation being driven by increases in energy commodities and used car prices, it is likely that those at the lower end of the income distribution are more heavily affected by declining real wages.