Growing inequality dominates the story of slow wage growth: Growth of productivity, real average compensation (consumer and producer), real median compensation, and real median hourly wage, 1979–2018
| Year | Real median hourly wage | Real median hourly compensation | Real consumer average hourly compensation | Real producer average hourly compensation | Net productivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1980 | -0.7% | -0.4% | -0.8% | 1.3% | -0.6% |
| 1981 | -1.7% | -1.0% | -0.5% | 1.6% | 1.1% |
| 1982 | -2.1% | -1.0% | 1.2% | 3.1% | 0.1% |
| 1983 | -1.9% | -0.5% | 1.5% | 3.3% | 3.1% |
| 1984 | -1.4% | -0.1% | 2.1% | 4.2% | 5.8% |
| 1985 | 0.1% | 1.6% | 3.8% | 5.9% | 7.5% |
| 1986 | 0.8% | 2.4% | 7.5% | 9.4% | 9.7% |
| 1987 | 1.9% | 3.0% | 8.1% | 10.9% | 9.9% |
| 1988 | 0.5% | 1.7% | 10.0% | 12.8% | 11.5% |
| 1989 | 0.3% | 1.8% | 9.1% | 12.2% | 12.5% |
| 1990 | 0.2% | 1.7% | 10.4% | 14.4% | 13.9% |
| 1991 | -0.7% | 1.3% | 11.6% | 15.7% | 14.6% |
| 1992 | 0.4% | 3.0% | 15.4% | 19.6% | 18.9% |
| 1993 | 1.9% | 4.7% | 14.8% | 18.9% | 19.4% |
| 1994 | 0.8% | 3.2% | 14.0% | 17.9% | 20.4% |
| 1995 | -0.7% | 0.8% | 14.0% | 18.4% | 20.9% |
| 1996 | -2.2% | -1.4% | 14.8% | 19.9% | 23.1% |
| 1997 | -0.2% | 0.0% | 16.7% | 22.0% | 25.3% |
| 1998 | 3.3% | 3.3% | 21.1% | 26.7% | 27.9% |
| 1999 | 5.9% | 5.8% | 24.0% | 30.4% | 31.4% |
| 2000 | 6.5% | 6.4% | 27.5% | 35.5% | 34.3% |
| 2001 | 8.1% | 8.6% | 29.4% | 38.1% | 36.3% |
| 2002 | 9.8% | 11.1% | 30.9% | 39.4% | 40.1% |
| 2003 | 9.9% | 11.8% | 33.6% | 42.4% | 44.7% |
| 2004 | 11.1% | 13.2% | 36.1% | 45.0% | 48.6% |
| 2005 | 9.5% | 11.7% | 36.3% | 45.9% | 51.5% |
| 2006 | 9.9% | 11.5% | 37.1% | 47.1% | 52.6% |
| 2007 | 10.1% | 11.3% | 39.0% | 49.2% | 53.7% |
| 2008 | 9.3% | 10.6% | 38.0% | 50.8% | 54.4% |
| 2009 | 11.6% | 13.6% | 40.9% | 51.6% | 58.0% |
| 2010 | 11.0% | 13.0% | 41.4% | 52.5% | 62.5% |
| 2011 | 8.2% | 10.1% | 39.8% | 52.2% | 62.5% |
| 2012 | 6.9% | 8.3% | 40.2% | 52.7% | 63.2% |
| 2013 | 7.4% | 9.3% | 40.4% | 52.4% | 63.8% |
| 2014 | 7.5% | 9.0% | 41.7% | 53.7% | 64.8% |
| 2015 | 9.2% | 10.5% | 45.3% | 56.2% | 66.1% |
| 2016 | 11.2% | 12.2% | 45.4% | 56.4% | 66.4% |
| 2017 | 12.1% | 13.1% | 46.7% | 58.2% | 68.1% |
| 2018 | 14.0% | 14.9% | 47.4% | 59.0% | 69.6% |
Notes: Data are for all workers. Net productivity is the growth of output of goods and services minus depreciation, per hour worked. “Compensation” refers to total compensation, including wages and benefits.
Source: Author’s analysis of EPI Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 1.0 (2020), https://microdata.epi.org; unpublished Total Economy Productivity data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Labor Productivity and Costs program; and Bureau of Economic Analysis National Income and Product Accounts. For more detailed information, see the appendix of Bivens and Mishel, Understanding the Historic Divergence Between Productivity and a Typical Worker’s Pay (2015).