U.S. Hourly Wages Rise 0.2% In July, Up 2.1% In Past Year

The average hourly wage paid to American workers rose 0.2% in July, but worker paychecks are still growing slowly. The typical worker earned $24.99 an hour, up 5 cents from the prior month. From July 2014 to July 2015, hourly wages rose 2.1% vs a 2% pace in the previous month. Annualized increases in hourly pay have stuck to a tight range of 1.9% to 2.2% since 2012. The amount of time people worked each week rose 0.1 hours to 34.6, matching a postrecession high. The labor-force participation rate was unchanged at 62.6%, which is the lowest level in 38 years.