"Real Wages and Productivity-Are Workers' Paychecks Keeping Up?" Historically, over the long run, real wages grow at about the same pace as labor productivity. But has real compensation per hour kept up with output per hour over the latest 3 years shown? Go to the Bureau of Labor Statistics to find the answer. What you are looking for is the most current information on percentage changes in output per hour of all persons in the business sector (labor productivity) and percentage changes in real compensation per hour.