United States 

Department 

of Labor 

Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

 Internet Address: http://www.bls.gov/ces/ 

 Technical information: (202) 691-6555 USDL 02-345 

 Media contact: 691-5902 

 

 TRANSMISSION OF MATERIAL 

 IN THIS RELEASE IS EMBARGOED 

 UNTIL 8:30 AM EDT, TUESDAY, 

 JUNE 18, 2002 

 

 REAL EARNINGS IN MAY 2002 

 

 Real average weekly earnings increased by 0.3 percent from April to May 

after seasonal adjustment, according to preliminary data released today by the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. This was due to a 

0.2 percent increase in average hourly earnings and a 0.1 percent decrease in 

the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). 

Average weekly hours were unchanged. 

 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. 

 Average weekly earnings rose by 3.2 percent, seasonally adjusted, from May 

2001 to May 2002. After deflation by the CPI-W, average weekly earnings rose 

by 2.4 percent. Before adjustment for seasonal change and inflation, average 

weekly earnings were $500.25 in May 2002, compared with $484.56 a year earlier. 

 _____________________________ 

 Real Earnings for June 2002 will be released on Friday, July 19, 2002. 

****************************************************************************** 

* The estimates of average weekly hours and average hourly and weekly * 

* earnings have been revised with the release of May data to reflect new * 

* employment benchmarks; the introduction of probability-based sample * 

* estimates for transportation and public utilities, retail trade, and * 

* finance, insurance, and real estate; and the updating of seasonal * 

* adjustment factors. Unadjusted data have been revised from April 2000 * 

* forward. In addition, seasonally adjusted hours and earnings series have * 

* been revised from January 1997 forward in accordance with the usual * 

* practice of revising 5 years of data. * 

****************************************************************************** 
Table A. Composition of change in real earnings of production or

nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls

Year 

and

month

Average

hourly

earnings

Average

weekly

hours

Average

weekly

earnings

The

Consumer

Price

Index1

Real

average

weekly

earnings

Percent change from preceding month, seasonally adjusted

2001:

 May 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 -0.2

 June .4 .0 .4 .2 .2

 July .3 .0 .3 -.3 .6

 Aug. .3 -.3 .1 .0 .1

 Sept. .3 .0 .3 .5 -.2

 Oct. .2 -.3 -.1 -.4 .3

 Nov. .4 .3 .7 -.1 .8

 Dec. .3 .0 .3 -.2 .6

2002:

 Jan. .2 .0 .2 .2 (2)

 Feb. .2 .3 .5 .2 .3

 Mar. .2 .0 .2 .3 -.1

 Apr.p .1 .0 .1 .6 -.4

 Mayp .2 .0 .2 -.1 .3

1 The deflator for the constant-dollar

series presented in this release is the

Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage

Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). 2 Less than 0.05 percent.

p = preliminary.

Table B. Percent change in earnings from the same month a year ago for

production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls,

seasonally adjusted

Year 

and

month

Average hourly

earnings

Average weekly

earnings

Current

dollars

Constant

(1982) dollars1

Current

dollars

Constant

(1982) dollars1

2001:

 May 4.2 0.5 3.6 -0.1

 June 4.1 .9 3.5 .3

 July 4.1 1.4 3.5 .9

 Aug. 4.1 1.4 3.2 .5

 Sept. 4.1 1.6 3.2 .7

 Oct. 3.8 1.9 2.6 .6

 Nov. 3.9 2.3 3.0 1.4

 Dec. 3.8 2.5 3.5 2.3

2002:

 Jan. 3.8 2.9 2.9 2.1

 Feb. 3.5 2.6 3.5 2.7

 Mar. 3.4 2.1 3.4 2.2

 Apr.p 3.2 2.0 3.2 1.9

 Mayp 3.2 2.4 3.2 2.4

1 The deflator for the constant-dollar

series presented in this release is the

Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage

Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). 2 Less than 0.05 percent.

p = preliminary.
Table 1. Earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls in current and constant

dollars1 by industry, not seasonally adjusted

Industry

Average hourly earnings Average weekly earnings

 May

 2001

 Apr.

 2002p

 May

 2002p

 Percent

 change

 May 2001 -

 May 2002

 May

 2001

 Apr.

 2002p

 May

 2002p

 Percent

 change

 May 2001 -

 May 2002

Total private:2

 Current dollars ...................... $14.21 $14.69 $14.67 3.2 $484.56 $499.46 $500.25 3.2

 Constant (1982) dollars ...... 7.89 8.10 8.09 2.5 269.20 275.34 275.77 2.4

Goods-producing:

 Current dollars ...................... 15.83 16.26 16.30 3.0 642.70 653.65 658.52 2.5

 Constant (1982) dollars ...... 8.79 8.96 8.99 2.3 357.06 360.34 363.02 1.7

Mining:

 Current dollars ...................... 17.42 17.68 17.68 1.5 768.22 747.86 758.47 -1.3

 Constant (1982) dollars ...... 9.68 9.75 9.75 .7 426.79 412.27 418.12 -2.0

Construction:

 Current dollars ...................... 18.18 18.68 18.65 2.6 730.84 724.78 727.35 -.5

 Constant (1982) dollars ...... 10.10 10.30 10.28 1.8 406.02 399.55 400.96 -1.2

Manufacturing:

 Current dollars ...................... 14.75 15.20 15.23 3.3 600.33 620.16 622.91 3.8

 Constant (1982) dollars ...... 8.19 8.38 8.40 2.6 333.52 341.87 343.39 3.0

Service-producing:

 Current dollars ...................... 13.72 14.25 14.21 3.6 447.27 463.13 463.25 3.6

 Constant (1982) dollars ...... 7.62 7.86 7.83 2.8 248.48 255.31 255.37 2.8

Transportation and public

 utilities:

 Current dollars ...................... 16.65 17.31 17.24 3.5 634.37 657.78 660.29 4.1

 Constant (1982) dollars ...... 9.25 9.54 9.50 2.7 352.43 362.61 364.00 3.3

Wholesale trade:

 Current dollars ...................... 15.71 16.09 16.09 2.4 600.12 614.64 616.25 2.7

 Constant (1982) dollars ...... 8.73 8.87 8.87 1.6 333.40 338.83 339.72 1.9

Retail trade:

 Current dollars ...................... 9.67 10.01 9.97 3.1 277.53 288.29 290.13 4.5

 Constant (1982) dollars ...... 5.37 5.52 5.50 2.4 154.18 158.93 159.94 3.7

Finance, insurance,

 and real estate:

 Current dollars ...................... 15.72 16.23 16.20 3.1 559.63 581.03 579.96 3.6

 Constant (1982) dollars ...... 8.73 8.95 8.93 2.3 310.91 320.30 319.71 2.8

Services:

 Current dollars ...................... 14.52 15.15 15.13 4.2 471.90 490.86 490.21 3.9

 Constant (1982) dollars ...... 8.07 8.35 8.34 3.3 262.17 270.60 270.24 3.1

1 The deflator for the constant-dollar series presented in

this release is the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage

Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). 2 Data relate to production and related workers in

mining and manufacturing; construction workers in

construction; and nonsupervisory workers in transportation

and public utilities, trade, finance, insurance, and real

estate, and services. Included in this group are

approximately four-fifths of all jobs on private industry

payrolls.

p = preliminary.
Table 2. Earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm

payrolls1, seasonally adjusted

Year

and

month

Average hourly

earnings

Average weekly

earnings

Current

dollars

Constant

(1982) dollars2

Current

dollars

Constant

(1982) dollars2

2001:

 May $14.24 $7.93 $487.01 $271.16

 June 14.29 7.94 488.72 271.66

 July 14.33 7.99 490.09 273.34

 Aug. 14.38 8.02 490.36 273.49

 Sept. 14.43 8.01 492.06 273.06

 Oct. 14.46 8.06 491.64 273.89

 Nov. 14.52 8.10 495.13 276.15

 Dec. 14.56 8.14 496.50 277.68

2002:

 Jan. 14.59 8.14 497.52 277.63

 Feb. 14.62 8.14 500.00 278.40

 Mar. 14.65 8.13 501.03 278.04

 Apr. p 14.67 8.10 501.71 276.88

 May p 14.70 8.12 502.74 277.60

1 See footnote 2, table 1. 2 The deflator for the constant-dollar series

presented in this release is the Consumer Price

Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical

Workers (CPI-W).

 p = preliminary.
Table 3. Revised seasonally adjusted average hourly and weekly earnings of

production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls1 in constant (1982)

dollars

Year

Average hourly earnings

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June

1997 .................... $7.46 $7.47 $7.50 $7.51 $7.53 $7.54

1998 .................... 7.65 7.69 7.72 7.74 7.74 7.76

1999 .................... 7.83 7.84 7.86 7.84 7.87 7.89

2000 .................... 7.89 7.87 7.85 7.88 7.89 7.87

2001 .................... 7.91 7.93 7.96 7.94 7.93 7.94

July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

1997 .................... 7.55 7.57 7.58 7.60 7.62 7.64

1998 .................... 7.76 7.78 7.80 7.80 7.81 7.82

1999 .................... 7.89 7.87 7.86 7.86 7.86 7.86

2000 .................... 7.88 7.91 7.88 7.91 7.92 7.94

2001 .................... 7.99 8.02 8.01 8.06 8.10 8.14

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 3. Revised seasonally adjusted average hourly and weekly earnings of

production or nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls1 in constant (1982)

dollars--Continued

Average weekly earnings

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June

1997 .................... $256.72 $258.38 $259.44 $259.72 $260.57 $260.18

1998 .................... 266.25 266.92 267.00 267.73 268.69 267.66

1999 .................... 270.82 270.61 270.49 270.53 271.35 272.22

2000 .................... 272.10 271.63 270.70 271.70 271.35 270.82

2001 .................... 271.99 271.14 272.10 271.65 271.16 271.66

July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

1997 .................... 261.21 262.81 262.09 263.80 263.78 265.18

1998 .................... 268.53 269.30 268.98 269.95 270.25 270.43

1999 .................... 272.07 271.67 270.46 271.22 271.30 271.32

2000 .................... 270.94 272.08 271.21 272.27 272.43 271.55

2001 .................... 273.34 273.49 273.06 273.89 276.15 277.68

1 Data relate to production and related

workers in mining and manufacturing;

construction workers in construction; and

nonsupervisory workers in transportation and

public utilities; wholesale and retail trade; finance,

insurance, and real estate; and services.

 NOTE: These data have been revised to reflect

the March 2001 benchmark and updated

seasonal adjustment factors.

p = preliminary.