AI Workforce

Shop Floor Pay

Real production and nonsupervisory wage

What is the current Shop Floor Pay?

REAL PRODUCTION-WORKER WAGE
$10
per hour in constant 1982-84 dollars for production and nonsupervisory workers

Real Production & Nonsupervisory Wage: $10 as of 2026-05, and holding steady. Source: Computed (BLS AHETPI / CPI via FRED).

Shop Floor Pay at $10

Tracking stable relative to recent baseline.

Source: Computed (BLS AHETPI / CPI via FRED) via FRED (AHETPI) ↗
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How has Shop Floor Pay changed over time?

CSV Chart
The hourly wage of the non-manager has stalled for fifty years
Average hourly earnings of production and nonsupervisory workers, 1982-84 dollars
Shop Floor Pay
Data: Computed (BLS AHETPI / CPI via FRED) Updated Jul 2026

Most affected counties

Counties with the highest labor scores in the County Distress Index.

1 Imperial County CA 100 2 Yuma County AZ 99.9 3 Dawson County NE 99.9 4 Luna County NM 99.9 5 Colusa County CA 99.8 6 Tulare County CA 99.6 7 Merced County CA 99.4 8 Starr County TX 99.4 9 Maverick County TX 99.3 10 Kern County CA 99.2
Explore all 3,144 counties →
Historical data
Monthly · Computed (BLS AHETPI / CPI via FRED)
Period Value YoY Change
May 2026 $10 −$0
Apr 2026 $10 −$0
Mar 2026 $10 +$0
Feb 2026 $10 +$0
Jan 2026 $10 +$0
Dec 2025 $10 +$0
Nov 2025 $10 +$0
Sep 2025 $10 +$0
Aug 2025 $10 +$0
Jul 2025 $10 +$0
Jun 2025 $10 +$0
May 2025 $10 +$0

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Real Production & Nonsupervisory Wage?

Real production and nonsupervisory wage

Why does Real Production & Nonsupervisory Wage matter for financial distress?

Real Production & Nonsupervisory Wage is one of the indicators tracked by the American Distress Index (ADI), which measures five dimensions of U.S. household financial distress: Delinquency, Default & Legal, Debt Burden, Labor, and Safety Net & Buffer. Changes in this indicator contribute to the overall distress picture.

Where does the Real Production & Nonsupervisory Wage data come from?

This data comes from Computed (BLS AHETPI / CPI via FRED). More information: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/AHETPI. The American Distress Index updates this indicator monthly.

Ross Kilburn
Written by

Ross Kilburn, Founder

American Default Research · Seattle, Washington
𝕏 @

Two decades working directly with financially distressed American households — from property preservation in 2003, to negotiating over 1,000 short sales during the Great Recession, to foreclosure defense marketing today. Author, The Ark Law Group Complete Guide to Short Sales (Auroch Press, 2013). Twice named to Puget Sound Business Journal Fast 50 for Ark Law Group. B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1992. Founded American Default Research in 2026 to fill a gap in public data that had been empty since 2013.

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Why does Shop Floor Pay matter?

Shop Floor Pay is one of 98 live indicators tracked by American Default Research. The methodology page explains sources, update cadence, and how the index uses its published inputs.
View methodology →
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