Real Wages Rise 1.4% Amid Slowest Inflation Since 2021

2025-05-13

The Balance of Breath and Burden by DALL-E 3

Real Wages Rise 1.4% Amid Slowest Inflation Since 2021

Bread and Circus: The Complete Record of American Governance

Today’s newsletter covers official U.S. government happenings from the executive, legislative, and judicial branches yesterday, as well as key economic indicators. Below, you’ll find concise summaries of each document, with links to the original sources for further reading.

What Happened Yesterday:

🦅 Executive Branch: No activity
🏛️ Legislative Branch: No activity
⚖️ Judicial Branch: No activity
📊 Economic Indicators: 2 documents (2 Bureau of Labor Statistics press releases)
Total words condensed: 3,223 into 713

The Big Picture

In April 2025, workers’ pay kept pace with rising prices, meaning that on average, people’s earnings maintained their buying power compared to the previous month. Over the past year, real hourly pay increased by 1.4%, and because people worked slightly more hours, their total weekly earnings rose by 1.7%. This steady growth in wages, especially for hands-on workers, suggests that some segments of the workforce are benefiting from economic improvements, even as prices continue to rise. However, the slight monthly drop in real weekly pay shows that gains are not uniform or guaranteed every month.

Price increases remain moderate but uneven. Overall consumer prices rose 0.2% in April after a small dip in March, with a yearly increase of 2.3%, the slowest since early 2021. Housing costs continue to climb steadily, up 0.3% in April and 4.0% over the year, while medical care and car insurance also became more expensive. Energy prices rose slightly in April but have fallen significantly over the year, mainly due to lower gas prices. These mixed price trends affect household budgets differently depending on their spending patterns. No new government policies or legislative actions were announced, so the current economic conditions appear to reflect ongoing market forces rather than shifts in official policy.

Pattern to Watch

A clear pattern emerging from the data is the gradual but steady improvement in workers’ real earnings alongside a slowing pace of inflation. The 1.4% rise in real hourly pay over the year, combined with a modest 2.3% annual increase in consumer prices—the lowest in over four years—suggests a more balanced economic environment where wages are not being eroded by inflation as much as before. If this trend continues, it could support stronger consumer spending and reduce pressure on policymakers to intervene aggressively. Key signals to watch for include whether wage growth keeps pace with or exceeds inflation in coming months and whether housing and medical cost increases moderate, as these are major drivers of overall price changes. A reversal, such as a spike in inflation or stagnating wages, would indicate a return to more challenging economic conditions.

🦅 Executive Branch

No activity today.

🏛️ Legislative Branch

No activity today.

⚖️ Judicial Branch

No activity today.

📊 Economic Indicators

Bureau of Labor Statistics

In April 2025, workers’ pay before adjusting for prices went up by 0.2%, but prices also rose by 0.2%, so the real value of hourly pay stayed the same compared to March. When looking at the whole week, real weekly pay dropped slightly by 0.1% because hours worked didn’t change. Over the past year, from April 2024 to April 2025, real hourly pay increased by 1.4%, and because people worked a little more hours (0.3% more), real weekly pay went up by 1.7%. For workers who do hands-on jobs (called production and nonsupervisory employees), their real hourly pay rose a bit by 0.1% in April and by 1.9% over the year, with weekly pay up 2.2% thanks to slightly longer workweeks. This means that while prices are rising, many workers are seeing their pay keep up or grow a little, which helps them afford things better and shows the economy is improving for some jobs. Read full document →
In April 2025, prices that people pay for everyday things went up a little bit, by 0.2%, after going down a tiny bit in March. Over the past year, prices overall rose by 2.3%, which is the smallest yearly increase since early 2021. The biggest price increases were for housing, which went up 0.3% in April and 4.0% over the year, and for things like doctor visits and car insurance. Energy prices went up 0.7% in April but actually dropped 3.7% over the year, mainly because gas prices fell almost 12%. Food prices changed a little, with groceries going down 0.4% in April but still up 2.0% over the year, especially eggs which got much more expensive. This shows that while some costs like housing and medical care are rising, energy costs are easing, which affects how much money families need to spend. Understanding these changes helps people plan their budgets and shows how the economy is doing overall. Read full document →

Sources Covered Today

BLS: Real Earnings
BLS: Consumer Price Index

All U.S. Government Activity Yesterday:

Presidential actions issued: 0
Regulations: 0
Bills presented to president: 0
Bills that became law: 0
Supreme Court opinions issued: 0
Supreme Court oral arguments: 0

This is your daily record of history unfolding — no spin, just facts. For 341,768,015 people in the United States, this was yesterday.

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