Average hourly earnings for all employees on US private nonfarm payrolls rose by 15 cents, or 0.4%, over a month to $37.17 in January 2026, after a downwardly revised 0.1% increase in December and slightly above analysts' estimates of a 0.3% gain. In January, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 12 cents, or 0.4%, to $31.95. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.7%, matching December's revised reading and above market forecasts of a 3.6% rise.