Over the past year, the Wage Price Index (WPI) has risen by just 2¼ per cent, the lowest outcome in the 17-year history of this series (Graph 4). Lower still is the growth rate in average hourly earnings measured by the national accounts.
Ben S Bernanke: National and regional economic overview Speech by Mr Ben S Bernanke, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, at the presentation of the Citizen of the Carolinas Award, Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, Charlotte, North Carolina, 29 November 2007. *  *  *  Good evening.