In a post shared on Twitter, President Joe Biden purports real wages are higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Right now, real wages for the average American worker is higher than it was before the pandemic, with lower wage workers seeing the largest gains.

That’s Bidenomics.

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 16, 2023

Verdict: True

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicate Americans’ average hourly earnings seasonally adjusted over a 12-month percent change show a 0.7 percent change in February 2020, before the pandemic began, and a preliminary 1.2 percent change in June 2023. A White House spokesperson told Check Your Fact in an email real wages are higher now than they were before the pandemic, accounting for inflation.

Fact Check:

Only 34% of Americans said they approved of how Biden is handling the U.S. economy in a recent poll, according to a Jun. 28 article from The Associated Press. Biden has been touting his work on the economy as part of the White House’s “Bidenomics” agenda, The New York Times reported.

“Right now, real wages for the average American worker is higher than it was before the pandemic, with lower wage workers seeing the largest gains. That’s Bidenomics,” Biden’s tweet, viewed over four million times, purports.

According to data from BLS, Americans’ average hourly earnings were 11.01 in February 2020, contrasted with 11.72 in April 2020. The same data shows that Americans’ preliminary average hourly earnings in June 2023 were 11.05.

Additional BLS data showing Americans’ average hourly earnings seasonally adjusted over a 12-month percent change show a 0.7 percent change in February 2020, a 2.1 percent change in March 2020, and a preliminary 1.2 percent change in June 2023. (RELATED: Joe Biden Claims U.S. Went From Producing 40% Of World’s Microchips To 10%)

A real wage is “the amount of money a person can expect to receive after factoring in the current inflation rate,” according to Indeed. Thus, real wages are adjusted for inflation, the website notes. Real wages are in contrast to nominal wages, or the amount of money a person is paid by hour or salary.

While Biden’s tweet was initially labeled with a Community Note indicating it contained a “factual error,” the note has since been removed.

White House spokesperson Michael Kikukawa said real wages are higher now than they were before the pandemic, accounting for inflation.

“As official BLS data show and several economic commentators have noted: wages are now higher than they were before the pandemic—accounting for inflation. That is true on average for all workers and it’s even more true for lower-wage workers,” Kikukawa told Check Your Fact in an email.

“Leading economists like Jason Furman, Justin Wolfers, and Arin Dube have all noted that real average hourly earnings are higher now than they were in January or February of 2020, the baseline that is widely accepted as representing the pre-pandemic norm,” he said.

Check Your Fact has contacted the Department of Labor for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.

In addition, Check Your Fact also contacted the Hudson Institute, who declined to comment, and BLS, who directed us to the data cited in this piece.