U.S. Hourly Pay Rises 0.1% In April, Up 2.2% In Past 12 Months

The average wage of American workers rose by 3 cents, or 0.1%, to $24.87 an hour in April, the government said Friday. The increase means wages in the past 12 months have risen at a 2.2% rate, a tick below the postrecession high of 2.3% last achieved in mid-2013. Year-over-year increases have clung to a tight range of 1.9% to 2.2% since 2012 even though the labor market has tightened considerably in the past few years. The amount of time people worked each week was unchanged at 34.5 hours, also a notch below a postrecession high.