U.S. Hourly Wages Rise 0.3% In March But Still Growing Slowly

Average hourly wages rose a solid 0.3% in March to $24.86, but how much U.S. workers get paid hasn't shown much change despite strong gains in hiring over the past year. The increase in wages in the past 12 months was 2.1%. Year-over-year increases have stuck to a tight range of 1.9% to 2.2% for the past three years. The amount of time people worked each week, meanwhile, slipped 0.1 hours to 34.5 hours after hovering at a postrecession high for months. The labor-force participation rate fell a tick in March to 62.7%, matching the lowest level in 37 years. Wage gains have averaged about 2% since 2010, just two-third as fast as they normally grow.