TEXT
Table A.    Composition of change in real earnings of production or
Table 1.   Earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on
Table 1.   Earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on
Table 2.   Earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private
Table 3.    Revised seasonally adjusted average hourly and weekly earnings of

Technical information: (202) 606-6555     USDL 96-73
Media contact:               606-5902
 
                                          WIRE EMBARGO UNTIL
                                          10:00 A.M. (EST) WEDNESDAY,
                                          FEBRUARY 28, 1996
 
 
 
                     REAL EARNINGS IN JANUARY 1996
 
    Real average weekly earnings fell by 1.7 percent from December
to January after seasonal adjustment, according to preliminary data
released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department
of Labor.  This decline stemmed from a 1.7 percent drop in average
weekly hours, which was partly due to unusually severe weather in the
eastern part of the country, along with a 0.4 percent rise in the Consumer
Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).  The
decrease was partially offset by an increase of 0.5 percent in average
hourly earnings.
 
    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 0.4 percent between January
of 1995 and 1996 as a result of a 3.4 percent increase in average
hourly earnings which was largely offset by a 2.9 percent decline
in average weekly hours.  After adjustment for a 2.6 percent gain in
the CPI-W over the same period, real average weekly earnings fell
by 2.2 percent.  Before adjustment for seasonal change and deflation
by the CPI-W, average weekly earnings were $392.45 in January 1996,
compared with $390.78 a year earlier.
 
 
                   _____________________________
 
 
     Real Earnings for February 1996 is scheduled to be released on
Friday, March 15, 1996.
 
******************************************************************
*  The seasonally adjusted constant dollar series presented      *
*  in this release have been revised to reflect new seasonal     *
*  adjustment factors calculated for the CPI-W, reflecting       *
*  experience through 1995.  This revision affects constant      *
*  dollar series from January 1991 through December 1995.        *
******************************************************************
Table A.    Composition of change in real earnings of production or
 nonsupervisory workers on private nonfarm payrolls
 ______________________________________________________________________________
              |            |            |            |            |
              |   Average  |   Average  |   Average  |     The    |    Real
              |   hourly   |   weekly   |   weekly   |  Consumer  |   average
     Year     |  earnings  |    hours   |  earnings  |    Price   |   weekly
      and     |            |            |            |   Index1/  |  earnings
     month    |____________|____________|____________|____________|____________
              |
              |    Percent change from preceding month, seasonally adjusted
 _____________|________________________________________________________________
              |            |            |            |            |
 1995:        |            |            |            |            |
     Jan.     |     0.2    |     0.3    |     0.5    |     0.2    |     0.3
     Feb.     |      .3    |     -.6    |     -.3    |      .2    |     -.5
     Mar.     |      .2    |      .0    |      .2    |      .3    |     -.1
     Apr.     |      .5    |      .0    |      .5    |      .3    |      .2
     May      |     -.3    |    -1.2    |    -1.4    |      .3    |    -1.7
     June     |      .5    |      .6    |     1.1    |      .2    |      .9
     July     |      .6    |      .6    |     1.2    |      .0    |     1.2
     Aug.     |     -.2    |     -.6    |     -.8    |      .2    |     -.9
     Sept.    |      .5    |      .3    |      .8    |      .1    |      .7
     Oct.     |      .4    |      .3    |      .7    |      .3    |      .4
     Nov.     |     -.1    |     -.6    |     -.7    |      .1    |     -.7
     Dec.p    |      .3    |     -.3    |      .1    |      .2    |     -.1
 1996:        |            |            |            |            |
     Jan.p    |      .5    |    -1.7    |    -1.2    |      .4    |    -1.7
              |________________________________________________________________
              |
              |            Percent change from same month a year ago
              |________________________________________________________________
              |            |            |            |            |
 1995:        |            |            |            |            |
     Jan.     |     2.7    |     0.0    |     2.7    |     2.9    |    -0.2
     Feb.     |     2.7    |      .6    |     3.3    |     3.0    |      .3
     Mar.     |     2.9    |     -.3    |     2.6    |     3.0    |     -.4
     Apr.     |     3.1    |     -.6    |     2.5    |     3.2    |     -.7
     May      |     2.6    |    -1.4    |     1.1    |     3.2    |    -2.1
     June     |     3.0    |     -.6    |     2.4    |     3.1    |     -.6
     July     |     3.3    |     -.3    |     3.0    |     2.8    |      .2
     Aug.     |     3.1    |     -.6    |     2.5    |     2.5    |     (2)
     Sept.    |     3.1    |     -.6    |     2.5    |     2.5    |     (2)
     Oct.     |     2.9    |     -.9    |     2.0    |     2.7    |     -.6
     Nov.     |     2.9    |     -.6    |     2.3    |     2.4    |     -.1
     Dec.p    |     3.1    |     -.9    |     2.2    |     2.5    |     -.3
 1996:        |            |            |            |            |
     Jan.p    |     3.4    |    -2.9    |      .4    |     2.6    |    -2.2
 _____________|____________|____________|____________|____________|____________
 
  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
    ____________________________________________________________________
                              |
                              |         Average hourly earnings
                              |_________________________________________
                              |        |        |        |
             Industry         |        |        |        |    Percent
                              |   Jan. |   Dec. |   Jan. |    change
                              |   1995 |   1995p|   1996p|  Jan. 1995 -
                              |        |        |        |  Jan. 1996
    __________________________|________|________|________|______________
                              |        |        |        |
    Total private:2/          |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........| $11.36 | $11.63 | $11.75 |      3.4
     Constant (1982) dollars..|   7.45 |   7.47 |   7.50 |       .7
                              |        |        |        |
    Goods-producing:          |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........|  12.80 |  13.21 |  13.25 |      3.5
     Constant (1982) dollars..|   8.39 |   8.48 |   8.46 |       .8
                              |        |        |        |
    Mining:                   |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........|  15.25 |  15.56 |  15.63 |      2.5
     Constant (1982) dollars..|  10.00 |   9.99 |   9.98 |      -.2
                              |        |        |        |
    Construction:             |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........|  14.67 |  15.09 |  15.20 |      3.6
     Constant (1982) dollars..|   9.62 |   9.69 |   9.71 |       .9
                              |        |        |        |
    Manufacturing:            |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........|  12.23 |  12.58 |  12.63 |      3.3
     Constant (1982) dollars..|   8.02 |   8.08 |   8.07 |       .6
                              |        |        |        |
    Service-producing:        |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........|  10.86 |  11.10 |  11.25 |      3.6
     Constant (1982) dollars..|   7.12 |   7.13 |   7.18 |       .8
                              |        |        |        |
    Transportation and public |        |        |        |
         utilities:           |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........|  14.08 |  14.41 |  14.50 |      3.0
     Constant (1982) dollars..|   9.23 |   9.25 |   9.26 |       .3
                              |        |        |        |
    Wholesale trade:          |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........|  12.30 |  12.60 |  12.67 |      3.0
     Constant (1982) dollars..|   8.07 |   8.09 |   8.09 |       .2
                              |        |        |        |
    Retail trade:             |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........|   7.64 |   7.81 |   7.91 |      3.5
     Constant (1982) dollars..|   5.01 |   5.02 |   5.05 |       .8
                              |        |        |        |
    Finance, insurance,       |        |        |        |
         and real estate:     |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........|  12.17 |  12.59 |  12.64 |      3.9
     Constant (1982) dollars..|   7.98 |   8.09 |   8.07 |      1.1
                              |        |        |        |
    Services:                 |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........|  11.39 |  11.69 |  11.80 |      3.6
     Constant (1982) dollars..|   7.47 |   7.51 |   7.54 |       .9
    __________________________|________|________|________|______________
 
       See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1.   Earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on
    private nonfarm payrolls in current and constant dollars1/ by
    industry - Continued
    ____________________________________________________________________
                              |
                              |         Average weekly earnings
                              |_________________________________________
                              |        |        |        |
             Industry         |        |        |        |    Percent
                              |   Jan. |   Dec. |   Jan. |    change
                              |   1995 |   1995p|   1996p|  Jan. 1995 -
                              |        |        |        |  Jan. 1996
    __________________________|________|________|________|______________
                              |        |        |        |
    Total private:2/          |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........|$390.78 |$401.24 |$392.45 |      0.4
     Constant (1982) dollars..| 256.25 | 257.70 | 250.61 |     -2.2
                              |        |        |        |
    Goods-producing:          |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........| 526.08 | 542.93 | 518.08 |     -1.5
     Constant (1982) dollars..| 344.97 | 348.70 | 330.83 |     -4.1
                              |        |        |        |
    Mining:                   |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........| 683.20 | 697.09 | 679.91 |      -.5
     Constant (1982) dollars..| 448.00 | 447.71 | 434.17 |     -3.1
                              |        |        |        |
    Construction:             |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........| 553.06 | 573.42 | 556.32 |       .6
     Constant (1982) dollars..| 362.66 | 368.29 | 355.25 |     -2.0
                              |        |        |        |
    Manufacturing:            |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........| 513.66 | 528.36 | 501.41 |     -2.4
     Constant (1982) dollars..| 336.83 | 339.34 | 320.19 |     -4.9
                              |        |        |        |
    Service-producing:        |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........| 354.04 | 362.97 | 358.88 |      1.4
     Constant (1982) dollars..| 232.16 | 233.12 | 229.17 |     -1.3
                              |        |        |        |
    Transportation and public |        |        |        |
         utilities:           |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........| 554.75 | 569.20 | 558.25 |       .6
     Constant (1982) dollars..| 363.77 | 365.57 | 356.48 |     -2.0
                              |        |        |        |
    Wholesale trade:          |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........| 469.86 | 481.32 | 476.39 |      1.4
     Constant (1982) dollars..| 308.10 | 309.13 | 304.21 |     -1.3
                              |        |        |        |
    Retail trade:             |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........| 215.45 | 226.49 | 216.73 |       .6
     Constant (1982) dollars..| 141.28 | 145.47 | 138.40 |     -2.0
                              |        |        |        |
    Finance, insurance,       |        |        |        |
         and real estate:     |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........| 441.77 | 450.72 | 451.25 |      2.1
     Constant (1982) dollars..| 289.69 | 289.48 | 288.15 |      -.5
                              |        |        |        |
    Services:                 |        |        |        |
     Current dollars..........| 369.04 | 377.59 | 375.24 |      1.7
     Constant (1982) dollars..| 241.99 | 242.51 | 239.62 |     -1.0
    __________________________|________|________|________|______________
 
     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
  _____________________________________________________________________________
               |                               |
               |                               |
               |         Average hourly        |         Average weekly
               |            earnings           |            earnings
               |                               |
      Year     |_______________________________|_______________________________
       and     |               |               |               |
      month    |               |               |               |
               |    Current    |    Constant   |    Current    |    Constant
               |    dollars    |     (1982)    |    dollars    |     (1982)
               |               |   dollars2/   |               |   dollars2/
               |               |               |               |
  _____________|_______________|_______________|_______________|_______________
               |               |               |               |
  1995:        |               |               |               |
      Jan.     |     $11.29    |      $7.39    |    $392.89    |    $257.30
      Feb.     |      11.32    |       7.40    |     391.67    |     255.99
      Mar.     |      11.34    |       7.39    |     392.36    |     255.61
      Apr.     |      11.40    |       7.40    |     394.44    |     256.13
      May      |      11.37    |       7.36    |     388.85    |     251.85
      June     |      11.43    |       7.39    |     393.19    |     254.16
      July     |      11.50    |       7.43    |     397.90    |     257.21
      Aug.     |      11.48    |       7.41    |     394.91    |     254.78
      Sept.    |      11.54    |       7.44    |     398.13    |     256.53
      Oct.     |      11.59    |       7.44    |     401.01    |     257.55
      Nov.     |      11.58    |       7.43    |     398.35    |     255.68
      Dec.p    |      11.62    |       7.44    |     398.57    |     255.33
  1996:        |               |               |               |
      Jan.p    |      11.68    |       7.45    |     393.62    |     251.03
  _____________|_______________|_______________|_______________|_______________
 
   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
________________________________________________________________________________
                    |
                    |                  Average hourly earnings
                    |___________________________________________________________
        Year        |         |         |         |         |         |
                    |         |         |         |         |         |
                    |   Jan.  |   Feb.  |   Mar.  |   Apr.  |   May   |   June
____________________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________
                    |         |         |         |         |         |
1991................|  $7.42  |  $7.43  |  $7.44  |  $7.46  |  $7.45  |  $7.47
1992................|   7.43  |   7.44  |   7.43  |   7.42  |   7.42  |   7.42
1993................|   7.39  |   7.38  |   7.40  |   7.38  |   7.38  |   7.39
1994................|   7.41  |   7.42  |   7.40  |   7.41  |   7.41  |   7.39
1995................|   7.39  |   7.40  |   7.39  |   7.40  |   7.36  |   7.39
                    |___________________________________________________________
                    |         |         |         |         |         |
                    |         |         |         |         |         |
                    |   July  |   Aug.  |  Sept.  |   Oct.  |   Nov.  |   Dec.
                    |_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________
                    |         |         |         |         |         |
1991................|   7.46  |   7.47  |   7.47  |   7.46  |   7.43  |   7.44
1992................|   7.41  |   7.43  |   7.40  |   7.40  |   7.41  |   7.39
1993................|   7.39  |   7.39  |   7.40  |   7.39  |   7.39  |   7.39
1994................|   7.40  |   7.37  |   7.38  |   7.42  |   7.39  |   7.40
1995................|   7.43  |   7.41  |   7.44  |   7.44  |   7.43  |  p7.44
                    |___________________________________________________________
                    |
                    |                  Average weekly earnings
                    |___________________________________________________________
                    |         |         |         |         |         |
                    |         |         |         |         |         |
                    |   Jan.  |   Feb.  |   Mar.  |   Apr.  |   May   |   June
                    |_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________
                    |         |         |         |         |         |
1991................| $253.69 | $254.19 | $254.57 | $254.27 | $254.83 | $257.75
1992................|  253.95 |  256.79 |  256.44 |  254.65 |  255.34 |  254.42
1993................|  254.26 |  254.78 |  252.97 |  253.76 |  255.48 |  254.81
1994................|  257.21 |  255.11 |  256.87 |  257.00 |  257.18 |  256.38
1995................|  257.30 |  255.99 |  255.61 |  256.13 |  251.85 |  254.16
                    |___________________________________________________________
                    |         |         |         |         |         |
                    |         |         |         |         |         |
                    |   July  |   Aug.  |  Sept.  |   Oct.  |   Nov.  |   Dec.
                    |_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________
                    |         |         |         |         |         |
1991................|  255.14 |  256.08 |  256.83 |  255.71 |  254.86 |  256.10
1992................|  254.12 |  256.28 |  253.85 |  254.42 |  256.32 |  253.33
1993................|  254.87 |  255.85 |  254.43 |  255.07 |  255.53 |  254.97
1994................|  256.62 |  254.92 |  256.24 |  258.99 |  255.86 |  256.61
1995................|  257.21 |  254.78 |  256.53 |  257.55 |  255.68 | p255.33
____________________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________|_________
 
 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 seasonal experience in the
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from January
1991 through December 1995.
  p = preliminary.