Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private*Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private*Total Nonfarm Private Payroll Employment (DISCONTINUED)

NOTES

Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private (AWHAETP)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Units: Hours, Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency: Monthly

Average weekly hours relate to the average hours per worker for which pay was received and is different from standard or scheduled hours. Factors such as unpaid absenteeism, labor turnover, part-time work, and stoppages cause average weekly hours to be lower than scheduled hours of work for an establishment. Group averages further reflect changes in the workweek of component industries. Average weekly hours are the total weekly hours divided by the employees paid for those hours.

The series comes from the 'Current Employment Statistics (Establishment Survey).'

The source code is: CES0500000002

Suggested Citation:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private [AWHAETP], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/AWHAETP, April 19, 2024.

Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private (CES0500000003)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Release: Employment Situation

Units: Dollars per Hour, Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency: Monthly

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, April 19, 2024.

Total Nonfarm Private Payroll Employment (DISCONTINUED) (NPPTTL)

Source: Automatic Data Processing, Inc.

Release: ADP National Employment Report

Units: Thousands, Seasonally Adjusted

Frequency: Monthly

Suggested Citation:

Automatic Data Processing, Inc., Total Nonfarm Private Payroll Employment (DISCONTINUED) [NPPTTL], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/NPPTTL, April 19, 2024.