U.S. worker earnings fall 0.1 percent

WASHINGTON, April 17 (UPI) -- The average weekly earnings of U.S. workers, adjusted for inflation, decreased 0.1 percent, the U.S. Labor Department reported Tuesday.

March average hourly earnings and average weekly hours both rose 0.3 percent but this was more than offset by a 0.8 percent increase in the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

Compared with March 2006, average weekly earnings adjusted for inflation rose by 1.6 percent, the bureau said.