Hooray! Your Real Earnings Declined in August

The BLS Real Earnings Report for August shows your average earnings decreased 0.3% for the month due to a rise in the CPI coupled with no wage gains.

Those who cheer declining purchasing power (notably Econoday), have even more good news to cheer about. Thanks to a 0.3% decline in the workweek, the average person is effectively taking home 0.6% less in August than July.

What could possibly be better other than even more inflation?

Current and Real Earnings, Private Nonfarm Employees

Production and supervisory workers did even worse.

No Disappointment

The good news keeps on piling up. To make less than 1% more than you did last year, you had to work more hours!

Let’s recap Econoday’s statement on the CPI earlier today.

“For the first time since February, core consumer prices did not come in below expectations, hitting the consensus with a modest but useful 0.2 percent gain. Despite lack of progress in the core, August results are not a disappointment and will definitely heat up support for the beginning of balance-sheet unwinding at next week’s FOMC.”

For more CPI details and mockery of Econoday, please see CPI Up 0.4% on Energy and Shelter: “Not a Disappointment”, Tiny Harvey Effect.

Mike “Mish” Shedlock