U.S. full-time workers’ median weekly earnings reached $1,232
BLS said the 1.5% year-over-year increase in third-quarter earnings lagged the 3.5% rise in consumer prices.
Event / data period: 2026-09
Published: · Updated:
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on 21 October that median usual weekly earnings for the nation’s full-time wage and salary workers were $1,232 in the third quarter of 2026, not seasonally adjusted. That was a nominal increase of 1.5% from a year earlier, while the Consumer Price Index rose 3.5% over the same period.
Women’s median weekly earnings were $1,127 and men’s were $1,352, equal to 83.4% for women relative to men. The seasonally adjusted overall median was $1,239, down from $1,258 in the second quarter. The estimates come from the Current Population Survey of full-time wage and salary workers.
Data
U.S. full-time workers’ median weekly earnings reached $1,232
- Median weekly earnings, not seasonally adjusted
- 1,232 USD
- 2026-07 — 2026-09 · Observed
- Median weekly earnings, seasonally adjusted
- 1,239 USD
- 2026-07 — 2026-09 · Observed
- Nominal median weekly earnings, annual change
- 1.5 percent
- 2026-07 — 2026-09 · Observed
- CPI-U, third-quarter annual change
- 3.5 percent
- 2026-07 — 2026-09 · Observed
Methodology
BLS Current Population Survey results for July–September 2026. Weekly earnings cover full-time wage and salary workers; unadjusted (NSA) and seasonally adjusted (SA) medians are separate. Annual changes compare the quarter with a year earlier.
Updated:
Subjects and places
Subject proposals
- InflationSuggested
- Subject suggested from the title or summary: consumer priceswww.bls.gov ↗
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- United States · Place role: Coverage · Place type: Country or area · Location precision: RegionalEvidence
- Explicit preserved editorial country/region; no city or national centroid inferredwww.bls.gov ↗