Takeaway: The latest data from the BLS shows that while nominal earnings rose, real earnings were flat from the same time last year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the Q2 data on weekly earnings this Tuesday, showing small gains in nominal wages. But persistent inflation is wiping out those gains. For the nearly 121 million full-time workers in the US economy, median weekly earnings rose by $53 from the second quarter of last year to $1,251. That's a rise of about 4.