Worker earnings in the retail electronics industry are highly procyclical, but have been stagnant since 2011 despite the economic expansion: Average real earnings in electronics stores, 1990–2018
| Date | Average real weekly earnings | Average real hourly earnings |
|---|---|---|
| Jan-1990 | $525.85 | $17.18 |
| Feb-1990 | $519.59 | $16.98 |
| Mar-1990 | $520.75 | $17.02 |
| Apr-1990 | $511.49 | $16.88 |
| May-1990 | $522.32 | $17.07 |
| Jun-1990 | $519.18 | $17.02 |
| Jul-1990 | $513.40 | $16.94 |
| Aug-1990 | $516.34 | $16.76 |
| Sep-1990 | $510.21 | $16.78 |
| Oct-1990 | $503.90 | $16.58 |
| Nov-1990 | $510.21 | $16.78 |
| Dec-1990 | $510.60 | $16.80 |
| Jan-1991 | $512.63 | $16.75 |
| Feb-1991 | $517.39 | $16.91 |
| Mar-1991 | $521.93 | $16.95 |
| Apr-1991 | $519.67 | $16.98 |
| May-1991 | $521.73 | $16.99 |
| Jun-1991 | $520.75 | $17.02 |
| Jul-1991 | $521.13 | $17.03 |
| Aug-1991 | $527.51 | $17.18 |
| Sep-1991 | $520.33 | $17.00 |
| Oct-1991 | $522.97 | $17.03 |
| Nov-1991 | $529.13 | $17.18 |
| Dec-1991 | $524.25 | $16.97 |
| Jan-1992 | $521.61 | $16.94 |
| Feb-1992 | $517.68 | $16.86 |
| Mar-1992 | $518.57 | $16.95 |
| Apr-1992 | $523.62 | $17.00 |
| May-1992 | $520.24 | $16.95 |
| Jun-1992 | $515.38 | $16.90 |
| Jul-1992 | $521.20 | $16.87 |
| Aug-1992 | $519.47 | $16.92 |
| Sep-1992 | $521.74 | $16.88 |
| Oct-1992 | $518.94 | $16.85 |
| Nov-1992 | $514.13 | $16.80 |
| Dec-1992 | $513.36 | $16.83 |
| Jan-1993 | $519.23 | $16.91 |
| Feb-1993 | $520.31 | $16.95 |
| Mar-1993 | $516.82 | $16.89 |
| Apr-1993 | $517.30 | $16.80 |
| May-1993 | $513.59 | $16.78 |
| Jun-1993 | $517.58 | $16.86 |
| Jul-1993 | $517.86 | $16.92 |
| Aug-1993 | $516.68 | $16.94 |
| Sep-1993 | $520.96 | $16.97 |
| Oct-1993 | $524.76 | $17.04 |
| Nov-1993 | $526.19 | $16.97 |
| Dec-1993 | $532.78 | $17.08 |
| Jan-1994 | $528.08 | $17.15 |
| Feb-1994 | $532.19 | $17.17 |
| Mar-1994 | $529.42 | $17.19 |
| Apr-1994 | $531.70 | $17.26 |
| May-1994 | $528.38 | $17.21 |
| Jun-1994 | $529.71 | $17.20 |
| Jul-1994 | $526.74 | $17.16 |
| Aug-1994 | $526.32 | $17.09 |
| Sep-1994 | $529.86 | $17.04 |
| Oct-1994 | $529.75 | $17.31 |
| Nov-1994 | $522.52 | $17.42 |
| Dec-1994 | $529.23 | $17.47 |
| Jan-1995 | $522.55 | $17.30 |
| Feb-1995 | $525.71 | $17.41 |
| Mar-1995 | $526.61 | $17.32 |
| Apr-1995 | $524.58 | $17.37 |
| May-1995 | $530.04 | $17.44 |
| Jun-1995 | $526.25 | $17.37 |
| Jul-1995 | $526.07 | $17.36 |
| Aug-1995 | $522.54 | $17.25 |
| Sep-1995 | $523.12 | $17.32 |
| Oct-1995 | $519.03 | $17.24 |
| Nov-1995 | $522.80 | $17.25 |
| Dec-1995 | $528.32 | $17.38 |
| Jan-1996 | $512.56 | $17.14 |
| Feb-1996 | $518.41 | $17.11 |
| Mar-1996 | $528.54 | $17.22 |
| Apr-1996 | $528.75 | $17.28 |
| May-1996 | $525.21 | $17.39 |
| Jun-1996 | $542.33 | $17.84 |
| Jul-1996 | $544.36 | $17.79 |
| Aug-1996 | $546.44 | $17.80 |
| Sep-1996 | $549.11 | $17.89 |
| Oct-1996 | $547.69 | $17.78 |
| Nov-1996 | $549.06 | $17.88 |
| Dec-1996 | $550.28 | $17.81 |
| Jan-1997 | $551.99 | $17.98 |
| Feb-1997 | $551.92 | $17.98 |
| Mar-1997 | $555.09 | $18.14 |
| Apr-1997 | $557.15 | $18.21 |
| May-1997 | $558.96 | $18.21 |
| Jun-1997 | $565.63 | $18.42 |
| Jul-1997 | $567.34 | $18.48 |
| Aug-1997 | $570.74 | $18.59 |
| Sep-1997 | $575.37 | $18.56 |
| Oct-1997 | $572.04 | $18.57 |
| Nov-1997 | $577.45 | $18.63 |
| Dec-1997 | $573.32 | $18.55 |
| Jan-1998 | $587.44 | $18.89 |
| Feb-1998 | $586.51 | $18.92 |
| Mar-1998 | $586.54 | $18.98 |
| Apr-1998 | $585.81 | $18.96 |
| May-1998 | $592.43 | $18.93 |
| Jun-1998 | $585.99 | $18.84 |
| Jul-1998 | $583.60 | $18.77 |
| Aug-1998 | $591.50 | $19.02 |
| Sep-1998 | $592.59 | $19.05 |
| Oct-1998 | $598.30 | $19.24 |
| Nov-1998 | $600.46 | $19.25 |
| Dec-1998 | $598.36 | $19.30 |
| Jan-1999 | $589.57 | $19.27 |
| Feb-1999 | $602.01 | $19.42 |
| Mar-1999 | $597.86 | $19.29 |
| Apr-1999 | $590.62 | $18.99 |
| May-1999 | $592.05 | $19.22 |
| Jun-1999 | $586.29 | $19.22 |
| Jul-1999 | $591.82 | $19.28 |
| Aug-1999 | $596.97 | $19.38 |
| Sep-1999 | $590.52 | $19.36 |
| Oct-1999 | $597.10 | $19.39 |
| Nov-1999 | $594.92 | $19.44 |
| Dec-1999 | $598.40 | $19.62 |
| Jan-2000 | $598.45 | $19.62 |
| Feb-2000 | $593.42 | $19.58 |
| Mar-2000 | $589.60 | $19.59 |
| Apr-2000 | $593.05 | $19.70 |
| May-2000 | $590.28 | $19.74 |
| Jun-2000 | $589.69 | $19.66 |
| Jul-2000 | $586.67 | $19.56 |
| Aug-2000 | $583.62 | $19.58 |
| Sep-2000 | $576.21 | $19.60 |
| Oct-2000 | $581.75 | $19.52 |
| Nov-2000 | $589.66 | $19.59 |
| Dec-2000 | $590.47 | $19.62 |
| Jan-2001 | $588.63 | $19.49 |
| Feb-2001 | $588.36 | $19.55 |
| Mar-2001 | $595.33 | $19.78 |
| Apr-2001 | $594.22 | $19.87 |
| May-2001 | $601.39 | $20.11 |
| Jun-2001 | $621.81 | $20.52 |
| Jul-2001 | $620.29 | $20.47 |
| Aug-2001 | $628.45 | $20.74 |
| Sep-2001 | $635.84 | $20.98 |
| Oct-2001 | $641.10 | $21.37 |
| Nov-2001 | $636.35 | $21.28 |
| Dec-2001 | $664.96 | $22.02 |
| Jan-2002 | $658.65 | $21.88 |
| Feb-2002 | $677.99 | $22.52 |
| Mar-2002 | $693.68 | $22.74 |
| Apr-2002 | $691.32 | $22.45 |
| May-2002 | $691.42 | $22.45 |
| Jun-2002 | $686.28 | $22.28 |
| Jul-2002 | $683.09 | $22.47 |
| Aug-2002 | $681.78 | $22.58 |
| Sep-2002 | $683.03 | $22.47 |
| Oct-2002 | $690.41 | $22.71 |
| Nov-2002 | $685.56 | $22.70 |
| Dec-2002 | $672.00 | $22.40 |
| Jan-2003 | $650.76 | $22.44 |
| Feb-2003 | $670.77 | $22.36 |
| Mar-2003 | $669.18 | $22.16 |
| Apr-2003 | $652.68 | $22.05 |
| May-2003 | $646.51 | $21.99 |
| Jun-2003 | $642.21 | $21.99 |
| Jul-2003 | $636.73 | $21.88 |
| Aug-2003 | $641.87 | $21.76 |
| Sep-2003 | $638.06 | $21.48 |
| Oct-2003 | $626.81 | $21.47 |
| Nov-2003 | $632.22 | $21.58 |
| Dec-2003 | $639.77 | $21.61 |
| Jan-2004 | $654.96 | $21.83 |
| Feb-2004 | $660.21 | $21.93 |
| Mar-2004 | $669.86 | $22.03 |
| Apr-2004 | $678.18 | $22.46 |
| May-2004 | $687.93 | $22.48 |
| Jun-2004 | $686.20 | $22.42 |
| Jul-2004 | $697.40 | $22.28 |
| Aug-2004 | $692.99 | $22.28 |
| Sep-2004 | $698.67 | $22.61 |
| Oct-2004 | $714.25 | $22.53 |
| Nov-2004 | $718.60 | $22.39 |
| Dec-2004 | $716.06 | $22.52 |
| Jan-2005 | $728.41 | $22.62 |
| Feb-2005 | $725.48 | $22.67 |
| Mar-2005 | $724.94 | $22.94 |
| Apr-2005 | $727.04 | $22.65 |
| May-2005 | $731.59 | $22.79 |
| Jun-2005 | $743.91 | $23.25 |
| Jul-2005 | $733.31 | $22.99 |
| Aug-2005 | $717.27 | $22.77 |
| Sep-2005 | $723.03 | $22.38 |
| Oct-2005 | $720.71 | $22.31 |
| Nov-2005 | $706.54 | $22.72 |
| Dec-2005 | $709.67 | $22.11 |
| Jan-2006 | $725.44 | $22.67 |
| Feb-2006 | $729.43 | $22.44 |
| Mar-2006 | $739.41 | $22.61 |
| Apr-2006 | $765.41 | $22.71 |
| May-2006 | $749.73 | $22.58 |
| Jun-2006 | $756.46 | $22.51 |
| Jul-2006 | $762.97 | $22.64 |
| Aug-2006 | $756.34 | $22.58 |
| Sep-2006 | $759.04 | $22.73 |
| Oct-2006 | $774.95 | $23.06 |
| Nov-2006 | $763.43 | $22.65 |
| Dec-2006 | $763.95 | $22.47 |
| Jan-2007 | $752.53 | $22.53 |
| Feb-2007 | $742.38 | $22.70 |
| Mar-2007 | $736.53 | $22.52 |
| Apr-2007 | $711.96 | $22.25 |
| May-2007 | $710.32 | $22.06 |
| Jun-2007 | $712.84 | $22.07 |
| Jul-2007 | $706.35 | $22.21 |
| Aug-2007 | $715.61 | $22.36 |
| Sep-2007 | $701.23 | $22.05 |
| Oct-2007 | $688.77 | $21.94 |
| Nov-2007 | $660.09 | $21.50 |
| Dec-2007 | $662.10 | $21.43 |
| Jan-2008 | $655.87 | $21.29 |
| Feb-2008 | $653.98 | $21.30 |
| Mar-2008 | $645.19 | $21.08 |
| Apr-2008 | $625.98 | $20.66 |
| May-2008 | $631.87 | $20.85 |
| Jun-2008 | $615.96 | $20.46 |
| Jul-2008 | $599.63 | $20.05 |
| Aug-2008 | $595.69 | $19.92 |
| Sep-2008 | $578.23 | $19.80 |
| Oct-2008 | $578.10 | $19.73 |
| Nov-2008 | $584.53 | $19.81 |
| Dec-2008 | $578.00 | $19.93 |
| Jan-2009 | $580.42 | $19.81 |
| Feb-2009 | $576.17 | $19.47 |
| Mar-2009 | $568.12 | $19.39 |
| Apr-2009 | $575.40 | $19.57 |
| May-2009 | $580.42 | $19.54 |
| Jun-2009 | $581.10 | $19.37 |
| Jul-2009 | $582.47 | $19.22 |
| Aug-2009 | $591.13 | $19.38 |
| Sep-2009 | $606.20 | $19.37 |
| Oct-2009 | $592.58 | $19.24 |
| Nov-2009 | $591.57 | $19.40 |
| Dec-2009 | $600.49 | $19.25 |
| Jan-2010 | $590.88 | $19.37 |
| Feb-2010 | $596.68 | $19.31 |
| Mar-2010 | $604.09 | $19.36 |
| Apr-2010 | $608.14 | $19.55 |
| May-2010 | $611.13 | $19.59 |
| Jun-2010 | $616.82 | $19.77 |
| Jul-2010 | $618.88 | $19.71 |
| Aug-2010 | $623.16 | $19.66 |
| Sep-2010 | $629.51 | $19.67 |
| Oct-2010 | $628.74 | $19.83 |
| Nov-2010 | $633.86 | $19.93 |
| Dec-2010 | $639.69 | $19.99 |
| Jan-2011 | $642.53 | $20.14 |
| Feb-2011 | $624.31 | $19.33 |
| Mar-2011 | $647.17 | $19.97 |
| Apr-2011 | $686.38 | $20.93 |
| May-2011 | $690.82 | $20.87 |
| Jun-2011 | $694.84 | $20.80 |
| Jul-2011 | $731.53 | $22.03 |
| Aug-2011 | $722.64 | $21.90 |
| Sep-2011 | $718.13 | $21.37 |
| Oct-2011 | $788.95 | $23.07 |
| Nov-2011 | $803.42 | $23.49 |
| Dec-2011 | $813.94 | $23.73 |
| Jan-2012 | $819.21 | $23.68 |
| Feb-2012 | $826.87 | $24.18 |
| Mar-2012 | $841.13 | $24.38 |
| Apr-2012 | $841.25 | $24.38 |
| May-2012 | $843.01 | $24.58 |
| Jun-2012 | $848.06 | $24.65 |
| Jul-2012 | $859.04 | $24.76 |
| Aug-2012 | $842.92 | $24.50 |
| Sep-2012 | $850.54 | $24.73 |
| Oct-2012 | $843.56 | $24.59 |
| Nov-2012 | $864.22 | $24.48 |
| Dec-2012 | $873.23 | $24.26 |
| Jan-2013 | $859.27 | $24.00 |
| Feb-2013 | $855.72 | $23.97 |
| Mar-2013 | $844.09 | $24.05 |
| Apr-2013 | $837.47 | $23.86 |
| May-2013 | $834.45 | $23.77 |
| Jun-2013 | $857.77 | $23.70 |
| Jul-2013 | $837.24 | $23.58 |
| Aug-2013 | $820.32 | $23.04 |
| Sep-2013 | $811.05 | $22.59 |
| Oct-2013 | $806.04 | $22.52 |
| Nov-2013 | $804.10 | $22.40 |
| Dec-2013 | $806.76 | $22.79 |
| Jan-2014 | $782.19 | $22.03 |
| Feb-2014 | $824.19 | $23.02 |
| Mar-2014 | $843.83 | $23.37 |
| Apr-2014 | $855.24 | $23.30 |
| May-2014 | $873.32 | $23.48 |
| Jun-2014 | $874.12 | $23.69 |
| Jul-2014 | $896.36 | $23.90 |
| Aug-2014 | $908.10 | $24.15 |
| Sep-2014 | $890.43 | $23.56 |
| Oct-2014 | $940.79 | $24.63 |
| Nov-2014 | $929.82 | $24.34 |
| Dec-2014 | $925.87 | $24.11 |
| Jan-2015 | $927.41 | $24.15 |
| Feb-2015 | $914.17 | $23.81 |
| Mar-2015 | $893.36 | $23.20 |
| Apr-2015 | $879.10 | $23.01 |
| May-2015 | $877.75 | $23.16 |
| Jun-2015 | $875.19 | $23.34 |
| Jul-2015 | $912.25 | $24.39 |
| Aug-2015 | $902.81 | $24.01 |
| Sep-2015 | $897.54 | $24.13 |
| Oct-2015 | $911.54 | $24.37 |
| Nov-2015 | $931.36 | $24.57 |
| Dec-2015 | $922.58 | $24.80 |
| Jan-2016 | $910.78 | $24.95 |
| Feb-2016 | $914.81 | $24.93 |
| Mar-2016 | $925.48 | $25.01 |
| Apr-2016 | $923.91 | $25.11 |
| May-2016 | $913.31 | $24.89 |
| Jun-2016 | $907.48 | $24.26 |
| Jul-2016 | $882.26 | $24.17 |
| Aug-2016 | $874.04 | $24.08 |
| Sep-2016 | $868.49 | $23.99 |
| Oct-2016 | $863.30 | $24.11 |
| Nov-2016 | $874.88 | $24.30 |
| Dec-2016 | $882.21 | $24.57 |
| Jan-2017 | $868.99 | $24.01 |
| Feb-2017 | $876.81 | $23.96 |
| Mar-2017 | $854.56 | $23.87 |
| Apr-2017 | $842.79 | $23.61 |
| May-2017 | $839.40 | $23.64 |
| Jun-2017 | $847.58 | $23.94 |
| Jul-2017 | $832.29 | $23.64 |
| Aug-2017 | $821.52 | $23.21 |
| Sep-2017 | $817.01 | $22.89 |
| Oct-2017 | $774.27 | $22.38 |
| Nov-2017 | $804.57 | $22.54 |
| Dec-2017 | $837.99 | $23.21 |
| Jan-2018 | $812.24 | $22.82 |
| Feb-2018 | $821.47 | $22.88 |
| Mar-2018 | $826.99 | $23.23 |
| Apr-2018 | $862.62 | $24.10 |
| May-2018 | $858.87 | $24.13 |
| Jun-2018 | $843.89 | $23.57 |
| Jul-2018 | $832.23 | $23.31 |
| Aug-2018 | $816.50 | $23.00 |
Note: Earnings are in August 2018 dollars.
Source: Authors’ analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics data