Three Wages and Two Prices

Using annual observations on U.S. non-farm workers from the late 1940s to 2019, descriptions of the movements of nominal wages, real consumption wages, and real product wages are reported. The prices faced by consumer workers and the prices faced by owner-managers move differently. Variables associated with movements in these wages are presented and the roles of these wages in accounting for changes in employment, hours of work, and in Labor's share are noted. Changes in real product wages have had a larger (negative) impact on the use of labor than changes in real consumption wages.