Avg. Hourly Earnings

Year-over-year growth in average hourly wages across the private sector. Above 4% YoY raises inflation concerns; below 3% is consistent with the Fed's 2% inflation target. Wage growth in excess of productivity growth is structurally inflationary and keeps the Fed from cutting rates.

Source: Federal Reserve (FRED), accessed via ALFRED (Archival FRED). ALFRED archives each data point exactly as it was first published on release day — before any revision by the reporting agency. The figures shown here are what investors, traders, and policymakers were actually looking at when the data came out. Economic releases like payrolls, GDP, and inflation are often revised significantly in subsequent months; ALFRED lets you see the real-time picture.