Along with CPI, we also got September readings for real wages today. Hourly wages were up slightly, but because hours worked dropped there was a fall in weekly wages:
All employees in September (adjusted for inflation)
- Hourly: +2.2% (annualized)
- Weekly: -1.2% (annualized)
Blue-collar workers in September (adjusted for inflation)
- Hourly: +1.2% (annualized)
- Weekly: +1.5% (annualized)
Okay, there's a disconnect here. "Blue-collar" workers (production and non-supervisory workers in BLS-speak) are almost all non-exempt, meaning they get paid hourly. Supervisory workers and above are generally exempt, meaning they get paid a salary that doesn't depend on hours worked. So if workers are working fewer hours, how is it that weekly earnings dropped overall, but rose for hourly workers?
Oh, you mean this only makes sense if Kevin accidentally swapped the hourly change for the two groups. No link so we can't double check.
What does it mean for the percentages to be annualized?
If you "annualize" a 1.5% increase for the week, don't you still get the same number?
Oh, I see. The monthly increase was like 0.1xx% times 12.to annualize it.
Here's a link, but I can't make it reconcile with Kevin's post:
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm