[Calculating the effect of inflation on real wages] Go to the Web site of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) (research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/).
a. Find the values for the most recent month and for the month one year earlier for the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items (CPIAUCNS) and Average Hourly Earnings of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees: Total Private (AHETPI).
b. Using the data you found in part (a), calculate the average hourly real wage for each year.
c. Calculate the percentage change in the average hourly nominal wage and the average hourly real wage during this year.
d. Given your calculation in part (c), explain whether an average worker was better or worse off than a year earlier.