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Archived News Release--Caution: information may be out of date.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

OPA Press Release: Statement of the U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman Regarding the Bureau of Labor Statistics' First Quarter Usual Weekly Earnings Report [04/15/1999]

For more information call: (202) 219-8211

"Today's report from BLS shows that our nation's economy is on the move--and moving American workers into a better standard of living.

The First Quarter Usual Weekly Earnings Report indicates that workers' wages rose 3.3 percent, almost twice the rate of inflation. But that is not the only good news. Black and Hispanic workers' wages rose by at least 6 percent each... that's three-and-a-half times the inflation rate. These numbers mirror the record low unemployment rates we have seen for Blacks and Hispanics over the last two months. And looking even further into these numbers, we see impressive gains for young workers, with wage gains of over 8 percent."

Archived News Release--Caution: information may be out of date.