Average hourly earnings for all employees on US private nonfarm payrolls rose by 15 cents, or 0.4%, in January 2026 to $37.17. This followed a downwardly revised 0.1% increase in December and came in slightly above analysts’ expectations of a 0.3% gain.
For private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees, average hourly earnings increased by 12 cents, or 0.4%, to $31.95 in January. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 3.7%, unchanged from December’s revised pace and exceeding market forecasts of a 3.6% increase.
