US Inflation-Adjusted Earnings Growth Stalls as Job Market Cools
A worker moves a vacuum formed tub for finishing at a manufacturing facility in Kingston, New York.
Photographer: Angus Mordant/BloombergUS inflation-adjusted wages stagnated for second-straight month, indicating a cooling labor market and continued price increases are limiting consumers’ spending power.
Real average hourly earnings for all US employees were unchanged in September, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report Friday that was delayed by the federal government shutdown. From a year earlier, earnings were up just 0.8% — matching the slowest annual pace since mid-2024.