U.S. Real Earnings Flat In December

ByJohn S. McClenahen The average U.S. worker made 0.3% more an hour during December of last year than in November. But that gain was completely offset by a 0.3% decline in the average number of hours worked each week and a 0.1% rise in the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers. The result, says the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, was no change in real weekly earnings between November and December last year. The average hourly earnings for production workers and non-supervisors was $15.59 in manufacturing during December 2002, some 54 cents more than in the private sector generally.