The Wage and Hour Division withdrew a 2025 proposal to remove nine parts of FLSA interpretive guidance from the Code of Federal Regulations, including guidance for retailers, motor carriers and petroleum distributors. The guidance stays where it is.
Average hourly earnings for private-sector workers rose 5 cents to $37.81 in September, up 3.0% from a year earlier, BLS said, as payroll growth slowed to 29,000.
Average hourly wages at businesses running Homebase Payroll were 6.8% higher in September than a year earlier, at $16.76, the fastest growth since January. Paychex’s separate small-business measure showed 2.78% growth; the two cover different employers and methods.
Starting October 1, Connecticut employers must list the wage or wage range and a general description of benefits in public and internal job postings, under Public Act 26-12. The rule also reaches remote roles that report into the state.
Florida’s minimum wage rises to $15 an hour on September 30, 2026, and the tipped minimum to $11.98, completing the $1-a-year schedule voters approved in 2020. The next change, an inflation adjustment, takes effect January 1, 2028.
Gusto's analysis of its small-business customers puts the 2026 median individual health premium at $8,743, up 7% from 2025. The share of firms offering coverage held at about 21%. This is company data, not a BLS series.
BLS data for March 2026 put employer compensation costs at $39.85 per hour worked in the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs combined statistical area, versus $75.12 in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland area. These are employer costs, not take-home pay.
Private employers paid 69% of family medical premiums in March 2026, BLS says. Workers in the lowest-paid quarter of jobs paid 37% of the premium, compared with 28% for the highest-paid quarter.
