Weekly earnings rose 5.4% in the fourth quarter.

Full-time employees received median weekly earnings of $337 in the quarter, an increase of $17 from a year earlier, a boost that kept paychecks comfortably in front of the 4.1% rise in consumer prices during the same period, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Median is the point at which half the employees earned more and half earned less. The report showed that families in which both spouses worked had median earnings of $568.

Median Weekly Income Based on a fourth-quarter survey of 60,000 households and reflects gross pay before deductions. 1984 Increase

Median earnings $337 $17 5.4% Married couples 568 44 8.3 Men 403 18 4.6 Women 267 12 4.7

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics