From the Economic Policy Institute:

Real hourly wages rose 0.2% in June, reversing a three month slide from March through May. Over the first two quarters of this year, both real hourly wage and weekly earnings have been flat, according to today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Despite growing more quickly in recent months, the real wages of most workers continue to lag inflation on a yearly basis. Inflation was up by 4.3% over the past year, leading to 0.6% fall in real hourly wages. Thanks to increased hours, weekly earnings were essentially unchanged over the past year, (0.1%).

The workforce whose wages are covered in today’s report represents about 80% of the private sector workforce, and by dint of their non-managerial status, these are not the managers and executives whose compensation packages have been soaring over the past few years. In fact, compared to November 2001, when the current expansion began, both their hourly and weekly earnings are unchanged in real terms (hourly, down 0.4%; weekly, 0%). Over this same period, productivity is up 15%. Clearly, this growth has not done much to lift the living standards of the broad majority.