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NOTES

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics  

Release: Employment Cost Index  

Units:  Index Dec 2005=100, Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Quarterly

Notes:

On April 26, 2006, The Employment Cost Index converted to the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification System (SOC). In addition, several computational changes were introduced, including rebasing all series to December 2005=100 from June 1989=100, the introduction of new employment weights and seasonal adjustment factors.
For more detailed information on NAICS and SOC, including background and definitions, please see the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) websites: https://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm and http://www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm.

Suggested Citation:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Cost Index: Wages and Salaries: Private Industry Workers [ECIWAG], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ECIWAG, May 31, 2024.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis  

Release: Personal Income and Outlays  

Units:  Index 2017=100, Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Monthly

Notes:

BEA Account Code: DPCCRG

The Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index is a measure of the prices that people living in the United States, or those buying on their behalf, pay for goods and services. The change in the PCE price index is known for capturing inflation (or deflation) across a wide range of consumer expenses and reflecting changes in consumer behavior. For example, if car prices rise, car sales may decline while bicycle sales increase.

The PCE Price Index is produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), which revises previously published PCE data to reflect updated information or new methodology, providing consistency across decades of data that's valuable for researchers. They also offer the series as a Chain-Type index and excluding food and energy products, as above. The PCE price index less food excluding food and energy is used primarily for macroeconomic analysis and forecasting future values of the PCE price index.

The PCE Price Index is similar to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer price index for urban consumers. The two indexes, which have their own purposes and uses, are constructed differently, resulting in different inflation rates.

For more information on the PCE price index, see:
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Guide to the National Income and Product Accounts of the United States (NIPA)
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Prices & Inflation
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Differences between the Consumer Price Index and the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index

Suggested Citation:

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy (Chain-Type Price Index) [PCEPILFE], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PCEPILFE, May 31, 2024.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics  

Release: Employment Situation  

Units:  Dollars per Hour, Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency:  Monthly

Notes:

The series comes from the 'Current Employment Statistics (Establishment Survey).'
The source code is: CES0500000003

The Average Hourly Earnings of All Private Employees is a measure of the average hourly earnings of all private employees on a “gross” basis, including premium pay for overtime and late-shift work. These differ from wage rates in that average hourly earnings measure the actual return to a worker for a set period of time, rather than the amount contracted for a unit of work, the wage rate. This measure excludes benefits, irregular bonuses, retroactive pay, and payroll taxes paid by the employer.

Average Hourly Earnings are collected in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program and published by the BLS. It is provided on a monthly basis, so this data is used in part by macroeconomists as an initial economic indicator of current trends. Progressions in earnings specifically help policy makers understand some of the pressures driving inflation.

It is important to note that this series measures the average hourly earnings of the pool of workers in each period. Thus, changes in average hourly earnings can be due to either changes in the set of workers observed in a given period, or due to changes in earnings. For instance, in recessions that lead to the disproportionate increase of unemployment in lower-wage jobs, average hourly earnings can increase due to changes in the pool of workers rather than due to the widespread increase of hourly earnings at the worker-level.

For more information, see:
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CES Overview
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS Handbook of Methods: Chapter 2. Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Establishment Survey

Suggested Citation:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private [CES0500000003], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES0500000003, May 31, 2024.

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Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy (Chain-Type Price Index)

Percent Change from Quarter One Year Ago, Quarterly, Seasonally Adjusted

Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private

Monthly, Not Seasonally Adjusted

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