Nominal wage growth shows economy is not overheating: Year-over-year change in private-sector nominal average hourly earnings, 2007–2016
| All nonfarm employees | Production/nonsupervisory workers | |
|---|---|---|
| Mar-2007 | 3.59% | 4.11% |
| Apr-2007 | 3.27% | 3.85% |
| May-2007 | 3.73% | 4.14% |
| Jun-2007 | 3.81% | 4.13% |
| Jul-2007 | 3.45% | 4.05% |
| Aug-2007 | 3.49% | 4.04% |
| Sep-2007 | 3.28% | 4.15% |
| Oct-2007 | 3.28% | 3.78% |
| Nov-2007 | 3.27% | 3.89% |
| Dec-2007 | 3.16% | 3.81% |
| Jan-2008 | 3.11% | 3.86% |
| Feb-2008 | 3.09% | 3.73% |
| Mar-2008 | 3.08% | 3.77% |
| Apr-2008 | 2.88% | 3.70% |
| May-2008 | 3.02% | 3.69% |
| Jun-2008 | 2.67% | 3.62% |
| Jul-2008 | 3.00% | 3.72% |
| Aug-2008 | 3.33% | 3.83% |
| Sep-2008 | 3.23% | 3.64% |
| Oct-2008 | 3.32% | 3.92% |
| Nov-2008 | 3.64% | 3.85% |
| Dec-2008 | 3.58% | 3.84% |
| Jan-2009 | 3.58% | 3.72% |
| Feb-2009 | 3.24% | 3.65% |
| Mar-2009 | 3.13% | 3.53% |
| Apr-2009 | 3.22% | 3.29% |
| May-2009 | 2.84% | 3.06% |
| Jun-2009 | 2.78% | 2.94% |
| Jul-2009 | 2.59% | 2.71% |
| Aug-2009 | 2.39% | 2.64% |
| Sep-2009 | 2.34% | 2.75% |
| Oct-2009 | 2.34% | 2.63% |
| Nov-2009 | 2.05% | 2.67% |
| Dec-2009 | 1.82% | 2.50% |
| Jan-2010 | 1.95% | 2.61% |
| Feb-2010 | 2.00% | 2.49% |
| Mar-2010 | 1.77% | 2.27% |
| Apr-2010 | 1.81% | 2.43% |
| May-2010 | 1.94% | 2.59% |
| Jun-2010 | 1.71% | 2.53% |
| Jul-2010 | 1.85% | 2.47% |
| Aug-2010 | 1.75% | 2.41% |
| Sep-2010 | 1.84% | 2.30% |
| Oct-2010 | 1.88% | 2.51% |
| Nov-2010 | 1.65% | 2.23% |
| Dec-2010 | 1.74% | 2.07% |
| Jan-2011 | 1.92% | 2.17% |
| Feb-2011 | 1.87% | 2.12% |
| Mar-2011 | 1.87% | 2.06% |
| Apr-2011 | 1.91% | 2.11% |
| May-2011 | 2.00% | 2.16% |
| Jun-2011 | 2.13% | 2.00% |
| Jul-2011 | 2.26% | 2.31% |
| Aug-2011 | 1.90% | 1.99% |
| Sep-2011 | 1.94% | 1.93% |
| Oct-2011 | 2.11% | 1.77% |
| Nov-2011 | 2.02% | 1.77% |
| Dec-2011 | 1.98% | 1.77% |
| Jan-2012 | 1.75% | 1.40% |
| Feb-2012 | 1.88% | 1.45% |
| Mar-2012 | 2.10% | 1.76% |
| Apr-2012 | 2.01% | 1.76% |
| May-2012 | 1.83% | 1.39% |
| Jun-2012 | 1.95% | 1.54% |
| Jul-2012 | 1.77% | 1.33% |
| Aug-2012 | 1.82% | 1.33% |
| Sep-2012 | 1.99% | 1.44% |
| Oct-2012 | 1.51% | 1.28% |
| Nov-2012 | 1.90% | 1.43% |
| Dec-2012 | 2.20% | 1.74% |
| Jan-2013 | 2.15% | 1.89% |
| Feb-2013 | 2.10% | 2.04% |
| Mar-2013 | 1.93% | 1.88% |
| Apr-2013 | 2.01% | 1.73% |
| May-2013 | 2.01% | 1.88% |
| Jun-2013 | 2.13% | 2.03% |
| Jul-2013 | 1.91% | 1.92% |
| Aug-2013 | 2.26% | 2.18% |
| Sep-2013 | 2.04% | 2.17% |
| Oct-2013 | 2.25% | 2.27% |
| Nov-2013 | 2.24% | 2.32% |
| Dec-2013 | 1.90% | 2.16% |
| Jan-2014 | 1.94% | 2.31% |
| Feb-2014 | 2.14% | 2.45% |
| Mar-2014 | 2.18% | 2.40% |
| Apr-2014 | 1.97% | 2.40% |
| May-2014 | 2.13% | 2.44% |
| Jun-2014 | 2.04% | 2.34% |
| Jul-2014 | 2.09% | 2.43% |
| Aug-2014 | 2.21% | 2.48% |
| Sep-2014 | 2.04% | 2.27% |
| Oct-2014 | 2.03% | 2.27% |
| Nov-2014 | 2.11% | 2.26% |
| Dec-2014 | 1.82% | 1.87% |
| Jan-2015 | 2.23% | 2.01% |
| Feb-2015 | 2.06% | 1.71% |
| Mar-2015 | 2.18% | 1.90% |
| Apr-2015 | 2.34% | 2.00% |
| May-2015 | 2.34% | 2.14% |
| Jun-2015 | 2.04% | 1.99% |
| Jul-2015 | 2.29% | 2.04% |
| Aug-2015 | 2.32% | 2.08% |
| Sep-2015 | 2.40% | 2.13% |
| Oct-2015 | 2.52% | 2.36% |
| Nov-2015 | 2.39% | 2.21% |
| Dec-2015 | 2.60% | 2.61% |
| Jan-2016 | 2.50% | 2.50% |
| Feb-2016 | 2.38% | 2.50% |
| Mar-2016 | 2.33% | 2.44% |
| Apr-2016 | 2.49% | 2.53% |
| May-2016 | 2.48% | 2.33% |
| Jun-2016 | 2.64% | 2.48% |
| Jul-2016 | 2.72% | 2.57% |
| Aug-2016 | 2.47% | 2.42% |
| Sep-2016 | 2.67% | 2.60% |
| Oct-2016 | 2.82% | 2.36% |
| Nov-2016 | 2.45% | 2.36% |
*Nominal wage growth consistent with the Federal Reserve Board’s 2 percent inflation target, 1.5 percent productivity growth, and a stable labor share of income.
Source: Adapted from EPI’s “Nominal Wage Tracker”