WAGE GROWTH FALLS

Data on average hourly earnings just released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in the March jobs report were disappointing.

As chart 1 illustrates, average hourly earnings fell 0.1% from the previous month.

As chart 2 shows, the monthly change dragged the year-over-year growth rate of average hourly earnings down to 2.2% from February's 2.5% reading.

This is likely due to the rebound in average weekly hours worked to 34.5 in March, displayed in chart 3, after a weather-induced drop in recent months.