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.
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.
The Atlanta Fed’s Wage Growth Tracker shows job switchers’ median wage growth at 5.0% in August, the widest gap over job stayers since early 2023. It is a national median, not a promise for any single offer.
Median wage growth on the Atlanta Fed tracker rose to 4.1% in August, yet BLS real average hourly earnings fell 0.3% over the year. Both are accurate; they measure different things.
