Inflation and wage growth move together: Two-year change in inflation and nominal median wage, 1975—2016
| Year | Median wage | Inflation |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 0.156537 | 0.190678 |
| 1976 | 0.14381 | 0.144509 |
| 1977 | 0.125938 | 0.124555 |
| 1978 | 0.15095 | 0.136364 |
| 1979 | 0.17568 | 0.16993 |
| 1980 | 0.19616 | 0.217468 |
| 1981 | 0.179029 | 0.216967 |
| 1982 | 0.137579 | 0.161115 |
| 1983 | 0.109767 | 0.105582 |
| 1984 | 0.08295 | 0.085672 |
| 1985 | 0.08312 | 0.077027 |
| 1986 | 0.089801 | 0.052747 |
| 1987 | 0.073506 | 0.052457 |
| 1988 | 0.061432 | 0.071845 |
| 1989 | 0.077454 | 0.08143 |
| 1990 | 0.077556 | 0.095012 |
| 1991 | 0.079425 | 0.08745 |
| 1992 | 0.071489 | 0.062224 |
| 1993 | 0.058607 | 0.050794 |
| 1994 | 0.034053 | 0.046332 |
| 1995 | 0.01469 | 0.045555 |
| 1996 | 0.04177 | 0.051629 |
| 1997 | 0.080289 | 0.049044 |
| 1998 | 0.091237 | 0.035695 |
| 1999 | 0.095106 | 0.035222 |
| 2000 | 0.077314 | 0.055818 |
| 2001 | 0.081558 | 0.063007 |
| 2002 | 0.072084 | 0.044501 |
| 2003 | 0.056219 | 0.038991 |
| 2004 | 0.066986 | 0.050173 |
| 2005 | 0.051905 | 0.061457 |
| 2006 | 0.064803 | 0.067205 |
| 2007 | 0.050457 | 0.061908 |
| 2008 | 0.05536 | 0.06801 |
| 2009 | 0.060837 | 0.034717 |
| 2010 | 0.018532 | 0.012752 |
| 2011 | 0.005583 | 0.048411 |
| 2012 | 0.01828 | 0.05294 |
| 2013 | 0.037523 | 0.03571 |
| 2014 | 0.035317 | 0.031081 |
| 2015 | 0.026915 | 0.017434 |
| 2016 | 0.058364 | 0.01392 |
Notes: The inflation measure is the research series on the consumer price index for urban consumers using current methods (CPI-U-RS).
Source: EPI analysis of inflation data from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and BLS wage data pulled from EPI's State of Working America Data Library (EPI 2017)