US: Real average hourly earnings increased 0.5% in December

"Real average hourly earnings for all employees increased 0.5 percent from November to December, seasonally adjusted," the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced today.

Key takeaways from the press release

• This result stems from a  0.4-percent increase in average hourly earnings combined with a 0.1-percent decrease in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).
• Real average weekly earnings increased 0.7 percent over the month due to the change in real average hourly earnings combined with a 0.3-percent increase in the average workweek.
• Real average hourly earnings increased 1.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, from December 2017 to December 2018.