Whatever the reasons, executive pay soared in recent years while the inflation-adjusted wages of manufacturing workers declined by roughly 10 percent in the last decade.

The sharp drop in the price index last month meant that the inflation-adjusted wages of production workers in November rose by 1 percent.

Despite recent wage gains, the average worker's inflation-adjusted wages remain 3 percent below 1989 levels.

During that period, according to Mr. Sum, the inflation-adjusted weekly wages of workers increased by just 1 percent.

And while more people may be working, inflation-adjusted wages are stagnating.

Workers at the bottom are finally enjoying significant increases in their inflation-adjusted wages.

On the other hand, other statistics said that real, inflation-adjusted wages had not been rising at anything like the same rate.

An uptick in the inflation rate helps to explain the latest inflation-adjusted wage data.

Union membership is continuing a long decline; inflation-adjusted wages are stagnant, and millions of low-paid Americans struggle without health insurance.

Many economists say the nation may be returning to a period like 1973 to 1996, when inflation-adjusted wages stagnated or rose glacially.