Real Compensation per Hour
110.1
· Jan 2026
econ
scout
1948-49 Recession · Nov 1948 – Oct 1949
1953-54 Recession · Jul 1953 – May 1954
1957-58 Recession · Aug 1957 – Apr 1958
1960-61 Recession · Apr 1960 – Feb 1961
1969-70 Recession · Dec 1969 – Nov 1970
1973-75 Recession · Nov 1973 – Mar 1975
1980 Recession · Jan 1980 – Jul 1980
1981-82 Recession · Jul 1981 – Nov 1982
1990-91 Recession · Jul 1990 – Mar 1991
2001 Recession · Mar 2001 – Nov 2001
Global Financial Crisis · Dec 2007 – Jun 2009
COVID-19 Recession · Feb 2020 – Apr 2020
40
60
80
100
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
110.1
Real Compensation per Hour — one value per year; US recessions are shaded on the chart.
Year
Real Compensation per Hour
1947
34.8
1948
35.6
1949
36.6
1950
38.4
1951
38.9
1952
40.5
1953
42.0
1954
43.4
1955
45.1
1956
47.0
1957
47.9
1958
48.7
1959
49.7
1960
50.9
1961
52.4
1962
53.8
1963
55.0
1964
55.9
1965
57.0
1966
58.4
1967
60.0
1968
62.0
1969
62.6
1970
62.9
1971
64.3
1972
66.8
1973
66.5
1974
65.9
1975
66.7
1976
68.7
1977
69.5
1978
70.4
1979
70.0
1980
70.2
1981
70.0
1982
70.9
1983
70.9
1984
71.3
1985
72.9
1986
75.9
1987
75.4
1988
76.3
1989
75.4
1990
75.6
1991
77.7
1992
79.7
1993
78.5
1994
77.7
1995
78.0
1996
78.4
1997
80.8
1998
84.0
1999
86.0
2000
88.5
2001
90.1
2002
89.9
2003
92.9
2004
93.4
2005
93.0
2006
94.8
2007
94.7
2008
96.5
2009
96.2
2010
96.1
2011
93.3
2012
96.6
2013
95.1
2014
96.8
2015
98.8
2016
98.9
2017
101.0
2018
101.2
2019
103.3
2020
111.6
2021
109.1
2022
104.4
2023
106.5
2024
108.8
2025
110.5
2026
110.1
Source: FRED · COMPRNFB · econscout.com