Hourly wages for production and nonsupervisory workers climbed about 3 cents an hour, to $16.03.

The average wage for the top 10 percent of wage earners climbed 90 cents, to $28.58 an hour, over the same period.

The janitors' wages, which are now $5.50 to $9.40 an hour, will climb to $11.75 after three years.

In general, hourly wages have climbed much more slowly than productivity.

Yet wages climbed, absolutely and relatively, even as the pool of working women swelled.

Prices fell almost every year, but wages and profits, instead of being squeezed out, climbed.

Over the last year, wages have climbed 2.6 percent slower than the inflation rate.

Labor leaders also note that workers' wages are finally climbing faster than inflation, after years of lagging behind.

Despite signs that economic growth is slowing sharply, wages and benefits are climbing a bit faster than a year ago.

I expect wages to be climbing at a 6 percent rate by year-end.