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Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 1998 U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics April 1999 Report 928 Introduction I n 1998, women earned about 76 percent as much as men did. The median weekly earnings of female fulltime wage and salary workers were $456 in 1998 compared to $598 for men. In 1979, when comparable earnings data were first available, the female-to-male earnings ratio was about 63 percent. For some demographic groups, the gender differences in earnings were quite small in 1998; for others they were relatively larger. Among blacks and Hispanics, for example, the earnings ratio was about 85 percent; for whites, the ratio was about 76 percent. Young women and men (those under age 25) had fairly similar earnings (young women’s earnings were about 91 percent of men’s); however, women’s earnings were much lower than men’s in older age groups. This report presents earnings data from the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a national monthly survey of approximately 50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The earnings data are collected from one-fourth of the CPS monthly sample. For a detailed description of the source of the data and an explanation of the concepts and definitions used, please see the Technical Note included at the end of this report. Highlights Following are some highlights about women’s earnings. Full-time workers • Median weekly earnings of female full-time wage and salary workers were $456 in 1998. This was 76.3 percent of the $598 median for men. The proportion was 62.5 percent in 1979, the first year for which comparable estimates are available. (See tables 1 and 13.) • Among women, 45- to 54-year-olds had the highest earnings ($516), followed by 35- to 44-year-olds ($498). Men’s earnings also peaked among 45- to 54-year-olds ($732). The difference between women’s and men’s earnings is relatively large among older workers. For workers ages 45 to 54, women’s earnings were 70.5 percent of men’s; for 55- to 64-year-olds, the earnings ratio was 68.2 percent. In contrast, among workers 20 to 24 years old, women’s earnings were 89.4 percent those of men. The earnings ratio for teenagers (16 to 19 years) was 88.5 percent. (See table 1.) • Between 1979 and 1998, the women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio rose for workers ages 20 to 64. Ratio increases among workers in the broad 20- to 54-year age group were larger than for those ages 55 to 64. For example, the earnings ratio among 35- to 44-year-olds increased from 58.3 percent in 1979 to 73.5 percent in 1998, while that for 55to 64-year-olds went from 60.5 percent to 68.2 percent. In contrast, the earnings ratios for teenagers and workers age 65 and over showed no definitive trend over the period. (See table 13.) • White workers of either gender earned more than their black or Hispanic counterparts. The differences among women, however, were much smaller than among men. White women’s earnings ($468) were 17.0 percent higher than black women’s ($400), and 38.9 percent higher than those for Hispanic women ($337). In contrast, white men’s earnings ($615) were 31.4 percent higher than the earnings of their black counterparts ($468) and 57.7 percent greater than those of Hispanic men ($390). (See table 1.) • The earnings difference between women and men was widest for whites, with white women earning 76.1 percent of what white men did. Among blacks, women earned 85.4 percent of what men earned, and Hispanic women made 86.5 percent of Hispanic men’s earnings. (See table 1.) • Since 1979, inflation-adjusted earnings for white women have increased 15.6 percent, while black women’s real earnings increased about half as much, 7.5 percent. (See table 14.) • Median weekly earnings for women age 25 and over without a high school diploma have fallen since 1979 on an inflation-adjusted basis, while the earnings for female college graduates have grown. In 1979, inflation-adjusted weekly earnings of women without a high school diploma were $334, about 57.5 percent of those of female college graduates ($581). In 1998, women without high school diplomas had earnings ($283) that were 40.0 percent of those of female college graduates ($707). Among men, the disparity in earnings by education widened even more. (See table 15.) • The ratio of female-to-male earnings varied widely by State. The differences among the States reflect, in part, variations in the occupation, industry, and age composition of State labor forces. In addition, sampling error in the State estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national data. (See table 4.) • Female college graduates have fared better with re- Part-time workers • Women who worked part-time—that is, less than 35 hours per week—represented 25.8 percent of all female wage and salary workers in 1998. In contrast, 10.7 percent of men in wage and salary jobs worked part-time. (See tables 5 and 6.) gard to earnings growth than their male counterparts. Earnings for women with college degrees increased 21.7 percent since 1979 on an inflation-adjusted basis. Real earnings of male college graduates increased 7.7 percent over the same time period. (See table 15.) • Women employed full-time in professional specialty occupations earned $682 in 1998, more than women employed in any other major occupation category. Within this occupation group, women working as physicians, pharmacists, and lawyers had the highest median earnings. (See tables 2 and 3.) • Female part-time workers’ median earnings were $161, 35.3 percent of the median for women who worked full-time. At $146, earnings for male part-time workers were 9.3 percent lower than female part-timers’ earnings. Female part-time workers tend to be older than their male counterparts. About two-thirds were over 25 years old compared to less than half of male part-timers. (See table 5.) • Women’s share of employment in occupations typified by high earnings has grown. In 1998, 46.4 percent of full-time wage and salary workers in executive, administrative, and managerial occupations were women, up from 34.2 percent in 1983, the first year for which comparable data are available. Over the same period, women as a proportion of professional specialty workers rose from 46.8 percent to 51.6 percent. (See table 2.) • Unlike full-time workers, whose earnings increased for each successive 10-year age group within the 25-to-54year category, earnings for female part-timers were essentially the same regardless of age. Female part-time workers younger than 25 and age 55 and over earned less than those in the central age groups. (See table 5.) • In contrast to full-time workers, earnings for both female and male part-timers varied little by race or Hispanic origin. (See table 5.) • In contrast, there was relatively little change in women’s share of full-time wage and salary employment in the remaining major occupation groups. In 1983, women held 77.7 percent of administrative support occupations; in 1998, they still held 76.3 percent of these jobs. Women represented 7.9 percent of precision production, craft, and repair workers in 1983, about the same proportion as in 1998. Men were about nine times as likely as women to be employed in precision production, craft, and repair occupations (where earnings are somewhat above the median), while women were four times as likely to work in administrative support occupations (where pay is typically low). (See tables 2 and 3.) Workers paid by the hour • Women who worked at jobs in which they were paid by the hour had median hourly earnings of $8.24 in 1998. Sixty-four percent of women employed in wage and salary jobs were paid on an hourly basis. (See table 10.) • In 1998, about 8 percent of women who were paid hourly rates had hourly earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage of $5.15. This compares to approximately 5 percent of men in hourly-paid jobs. (See table 12. See Technical Note for information about workers with earnings below the Federal minimum wage.) • Within each broad occupational category, women and men tend to work in different specific occupations. In the professional specialty occupations, where women earned the most, they were less likely than men to be employed in some higher-paying occupations such as engineers, computer systems analysts, and architects, and more likely to work in those with lower earnings, for example, teachers (except college and university) and social workers. (See table 3.) • Among women paid hourly rates, the proportion earning the minimum wage or less varies considerably by age. Those ages 16 to 19 years were the most likely to have earnings at or below the minimum, while women 45 to 54 years old were the least likely. (See table 12.) 2 Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, 1998 annual averages Both sexes Characteristic Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings 95,595 11,046 2,211 8,836 84,549 25,555 28,156 21,023 8,666 1,149 $523 319 268 339 572 502 597 620 592 405 79,403 11,776 10,532 Women Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings $1 1 2 2 1 2 2 3 4 9 41,282 4,721 922 3,799 36,561 10,800 11,971 9,579 3,753 459 $456 305 249 319 485 451 498 516 476 350 545 426 370 2 3 3 33,316 6,025 3,816 23,948 55,660 15,987 10,799 3,740 1,448 416 596 494 518 424 424 2 1 2 3 5 9 14,825 16,323 79,272 659 653 499 84,549 8,576 27,131 23,210 25,632 572 337 479 558 821 Men Women’s earnings as percent of men’s1 Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings $2 2 3 2 1 2 2 3 5 10 54,313 6,325 1,288 5,037 47,988 14,756 16,185 11,444 4,914 689 $598 334 281 357 639 544 677 732 699 482 $2 3 3 3 2 4 4 4 7 23 76.3 91.3 88.5 89.4 75.9 83.0 73.5 70.5 68.2 72.6 468 400 337 2 3 4 46,087 5,751 6,716 615 468 390 2 5 3 76.1 85.4 86.5 10,203 21,863 9,216 6,159 1,907 1,150 400 485 450 480 390 402 2 2 3 3 5 7 13,745 33,797 6,772 4,640 1,833 298 428 679 571 598 490 543 3 3 5 5 8 42 93.6 71.3 78.7 80.3 79.6 74.1 3 3 1 5,389 6,154 35,128 596 593 430 3 3 2 9,436 10,169 44,144 699 696 573 3 3 2 85.2 85.2 75.1 1 3 2 3 4 36,561 2,874 11,787 10,744 11,156 485 283 396 476 707 1 2 2 2 4 47,988 5,702 15,344 12,466 14,476 639 383 559 643 939 2 3 3 4 4 75.9 73.7 70.9 74.0 75.3 Standard error of median Standard error of median Standard error of median AGE Total, 16 years and over ................. 16 to 24 years ....................................... 16 to 19 years .................................... 20 to 24 years .................................... 25 years and over ................................. 25 to 34 years .................................... 35 to 44 years .................................... 45 to 54 years .................................... 55 to 64 years .................................... 65 years and over .............................. RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN White .................................................... Black ..................................................... Hispanic origin ...................................... MARITAL STATUS Never married ....................................... Married, spouse present ....................... Other marital status .............................. Divorced ............................................ Separated .......................................... Widowed ............................................ UNION AFFILIATION2 Members of unions3 ............................. Represented by unions4 ....................... Not represented by a union .................. EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Total, 25 years and over ....................... Less than a high school diploma ........ High school graduates, no college ..... Some college or associate degree ..... College graduates, total ...................... 1 These figures are computed using unrounded medians and may differ slightly from percents computed using the rounded medians displayed in this table. 2 Differences in earnings levels between men and women with union affiliation reflect a variety of factors in addition to coverage by a collective bargaining agreement, including the distribution of male and female employees by occupation, industry, firm size, or geographic region. 3 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union. 4 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract. NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. 3 Table 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by occupation and sex, 1983 and 1998 annual averages 1983 Occupation 1998 Number Women’s Number Women’s Women’s Men’s Women’s Men’s of earnings of earnings Percent median median Percent median median workers as workers as weekly weekly weekly weekly women women (in percent (in percent earnings earnings earnings earnings 1 thousands) of men’s thousands) of men’s1 Total, 16 years and over ........................................... 70,976 40.4 $252 $379 66.6 95,595 43.2 $456 $598 76.3 Managerial and professional specialty .......................... Executive, administrative, and managerial .................. Professional specialty ................................................... 17,451 8,117 9,334 40.9 34.2 46.8 358 340 368 516 530 506 69.2 64.0 72.6 29,304 14,451 14,853 49.0 46.4 51.6 655 626 682 905 915 895 72.4 68.4 76.2 Technical, sales, and administrative support ................. Technicians and related support ................................. Sales occupations ........................................................ Administrative support, including clerical ...................... 21,641 2,574 6,313 12,755 62.5 44.5 39.0 77.7 247 299 205 249 386 424 389 362 64.0 70.6 52.7 68.7 27,372 3,507 9,636 14,229 61.9 49.4 45.0 76.3 419 511 372 418 606 701 622 518 69.2 72.9 59.8 80.7 Service occupations ....................................................... Private household ........................................................ Protective service ........................................................ Service, except private household and protective ........ 7,321 278 1,453 5,590 49.2 96.0 9.5 57.1 173 116 251 176 256 ( 2) 356 218 67.8 ( 3) 70.4 81.0 10,592 381 2,140 8,070 50.0 95.0 15.1 57.2 296 220 481 295 389 ( 2) 613 325 76.1 ( 3) 78.4 90.8 Precision production, craft, and repair ........................... 9,963 7.9 256 387 66.1 11,691 8.1 408 587 69.5 Operators, fabricators, and laborers ............................... Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors .......... Transportation and material moving occupations ......... Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers .. 13,319 6,990 3,358 2,970 26.2 40.8 4.7 16.0 205 202 253 211 308 320 335 252 66.5 63.3 75.5 83.9 15,082 6,987 4,322 3,773 23.3 35.8 8.0 17.7 327 328 373 311 456 472 519 362 71.6 69.4 71.9 85.8 Farming, forestry, and fishing ......................................... 1,280 11.2 169 201 84.2 1,555 14.0 272 307 88.6 1 These figures are computed using unrounded medians and may differ slightly from percents computed using the rounded medians displayed in this table. 2 Data not shown where base is less than 50,000. 3 Data not shown where base for either the numerator or denominator is less than 50,000. 4 Table 3. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex, 1998 annual averages Both sexes Occupation Women Men Women’s Number Number Number earnings Standard Standard Standard of Median of Median of Median as error error error workers workers workers percent weekly weekly weekly of of of earnings earnings earnings (in (in (in of men’s1 median median median thousands) thousands) thousands) Total, 16 years and over ........................................... 95,595 $523 $1 41,282 $456 $2 54,313 $598 $2 76.3 Managerial and professional specialty ........................... Executive, administrative, and managerial ................... Administrators and officials, public administration ...... Administrators, protective services ............................. Financial managers .................................................... Personnel and labor relations managers .................... Purchasing managers ................................................. Managers, marketing, advertising, and public relations .............................................................. Administrators, education and related fields ............... Managers, medicine and health ................................. Managers, food serving and lodging establishments .................................................... Managers, properties and real estate ......................... Management-related occupations .............................. Accountants and auditors ......................................... Underwriters ............................................................. Other financial officers .............................................. Management analysts .............................................. Personnel, training, and labor relations specialists .. Buyers, wholesale and retail trade, except farm products ..................................................... Construction inspectors ............................................ Inspectors and compliance officers, except construction ............................................ 29,304 14,451 588 54 652 152 136 759 755 823 883 852 823 817 2 3 20 49 16 44 47 14,363 6,705 286 13 336 97 56 655 626 663 ( 2) 703 747 724 3 3 21 2 ( ) 24 59 17 14,941 7,746 302 42 316 55 80 905 915 957 ( 2) 1,017 947 965 5 7 22 2 ( ) 48 35 42 72.4 68.4 69.3 ( 3) 69.1 78.8 75.1 741 637 626 960 877 716 15 21 19 283 378 492 759 730 679 20 22 19 458 259 134 1,128 1,111 869 31 72 43 67.3 65.7 78.1 962 301 3,818 1,303 107 642 216 431 509 585 660 674 658 703 841 630 7 12 5 11 31 19 22 14 424 168 2,238 780 76 347 95 295 434 518 602 618 625 591 752 601 13 17 4 7 34 11 16 10 538 133 1,580 523 31 295 121 135 591 638 790 821 ( 2) 901 964 755 11 46 14 23 ( 2) 27 40 38 73.5 81.2 76.2 75.3 ( 3) 65.7 78.0 79.6 162 63 612 742 13 29 77 6 590 ( 2) 13 ( 2) 85 57 647 760 28 27 91.2 ( 3) 220 741 23 74 714 43 145 756 29 94.5 Professional specialty ................................................... Engineers, architects, and surveyors ......................... Architects .................................................................. Engineers ................................................................. Aerospace engineers .............................................. Chemical engineers ................................................ Civil engineers ........................................................ Electrical and electronic engineers ......................... Industrial engineers ................................................ Mechanical engineers ............................................. Mathematical and computer scientists ....................... Computer systems analysts and scientists ............... Operations and systems researchers and analysts .. Natural scientists ........................................................ Chemists, except biochemists .................................. Biological and life scientists ...................................... Medical scientists ..................................................... Health diagnosing occupations ................................... Physicians ................................................................ Health assessment and treating occupations ............. Registered nurses .................................................... Pharmacists .............................................................. Dietitians ................................................................... Therapists ................................................................. Respiratory therapists ............................................. Physical therapists .................................................. Speech therapists ................................................... Physicians’ assistants ............................................... Teachers, college and university ................................ Teachers, except college and university .................... Teachers, prekindergarten and kindergarten ........... Teachers, elementary school ................................... Teachers, secondary school ..................................... Teachers, special education ..................................... Counselors, educational and vocational ..................... Librarians, archivists, and curators ............................. 14,853 2,043 102 1,930 75 68 259 605 248 313 1,544 1,281 208 470 129 91 80 549 474 2,102 1,490 139 58 362 83 87 75 53 578 3,974 412 1,706 1,121 318 192 177 763 988 872 992 1,139 1,023 965 1,059 889 998 938 952 874 828 884 739 755 1,134 1,156 738 739 1,063 582 710 618 906 725 611 907 671 397 691 736 701 695 656 3 11 40 11 23 52 32 19 25 27 10 12 24 26 56 28 28 50 33 6 6 20 64 14 23 34 30 30 23 6 18 8 9 14 47 35 7,658 215 15 200 6 12 30 51 41 18 438 341 81 152 45 34 38 181 153 1,739 1,351 59 47 258 46 61 71 24 211 2,952 404 1,433 631 259 131 146 682 827 ( 2) 831 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 931 ( 2) ( 2) 859 890 750 732 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 948 966 730 734 985 ( 2) 709 ( 2) 887 729 ( 2) 769 644 398 677 698 693 689 640 4 27 ( 2) 29 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 44 ( 2) ( 2) 26 14 24 17 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 37 40 6 6 67 ( 2) 17 ( 2) 29 29 ( 2) 15 6 16 8 15 14 43 33 7,195 1,828 87 1,730 68 56 229 554 208 296 1,105 941 127 318 84 56 41 367 321 363 139 80 11 104 37 26 5 30 366 1,022 8 274 490 58 61 31 895 1,007 893 1,011 1,150 1,041 1,001 1,067 912 1,007 986 996 937 908 982 781 ( 2) 1,227 1,255 791 774 1,146 ( 2) 713 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 998 746 ( 2) 749 773 733 725 ( 2) 6 11 59 11 22 46 33 19 26 26 17 17 19 34 37 51 ( 2) 77 48 33 28 25 ( 2) 20 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 48 9 ( 2) 13 15 46 218 ( 2) 76.2 82.1 ( 3) 82.1 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 87.2 ( 3) ( 3) 87.1 89.4 80.0 80.6 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 77.3 77.0 92.4 94.8 85.9 ( 3) 99.4 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 77.1 86.4 ( 3) 90.5 90.3 94.6 94.9 ( 3) See footnotes at end of table. 5 Table 3. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex, 1998 annual averages–Continued Both sexes Occupation Women Men Women’s Number Number Number earnings Standard Standard Standard of Median of Median of Median as error error error workers workers workers percent weekly weekly weekly of of of earnings earnings earnings (in (in (in of men’s1 median median median thousands) thousands) thousands) Librarians .................................................................. Social scientists and urban planners .......................... Economists ............................................................... Psychologists ............................................................ Social, recreation, and religious workers .................... Social workers .......................................................... Recreation workers ................................................... Clergy ....................................................................... Lawyers and judges .................................................... Lawyers .................................................................... Writers, artists, entertainers, and athletes .................. Technical writers ....................................................... Designers ................................................................. Actors and directors .................................................. Painters, sculptors, craft artists, and artist printmakers ............................................... Photographers .......................................................... Editors and reporters ................................................ Public relations specialists ........................................ 159 286 99 143 1,113 654 105 275 562 527 1,264 63 407 88 665 758 900 679 557 579 353 593 1,218 1,209 647 810 635 733 34 19 29 32 10 10 19 21 76 76 9 26 15 26 136 141 42 78 571 427 74 25 193 181 587 36 199 35 653 661 ( 2) 621 531 568 351 ( 2) 956 951 591 ( 2) 562 ( 2) 32 17 ( 2) 21 11 11 20 ( 2) 40 39 8 ( 2) 22 ( 2) 22 145 57 65 542 227 31 250 370 346 677 27 208 53 ( 2) 878 991 740 593 609 ( 2) 603 1,348 1,350 713 ( 2) 720 801 ( 2) 34 43 32 17 21 ( 2) 25 40 39 18 ( 2) 31 59 ( 3) 75.3 ( 3) 83.9 89.5 93.1 ( 3) ( 3) 70.9 70.4 83.0 ( 3) 78.1 ( 3) 99 51 215 127 562 526 723 707 55 77 34 66 47 15 95 77 ( 2) ( 2) 616 680 ( 2) ( 2) 17 87 52 36 120 49 680 ( 2) 812 ( 2) 42 ( 2) 95 ( 2) ( 3) ( 3) 75.8 ( 3) Technical, sales, and administrative support .................. Technicians and related support .................................. Health technologists and technicians ......................... Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians ..... Radiologic technicians .............................................. Licensed practical nurses ......................................... Engineering and related technologists and technicians ........................................................... Electrical and electronic technicians ......................... Drafting occupations ................................................. Surveying and mapping technicians ......................... Science technicians .................................................... Biological technicians ............................................... Chemical technicians ................................................ Technicians, except health, engineering, and science ................................................................ Airplane pilots and navigators .................................. Computer programmers ........................................... Legal assistants ........................................................ 27,372 3,507 1,296 281 135 289 477 599 502 566 631 473 2 4 6 25 28 9 16,933 1,734 1,017 216 90 276 419 511 486 549 595 470 1 4 5 37 16 7 10,439 1,773 279 65 45 14 606 701 588 585 ( 2) ( 2) 3 9 15 26 ( 2) ( 2) 69.2 72.9 82.7 93.8 ( 3) ( 3) 888 421 200 66 241 86 76 638 642 642 668 557 482 614 10 12 21 63 18 23 28 170 68 38 8 92 59 14 529 551 ( 2) ( 2) 463 449 ( 2) 23 32 ( 2) ( 2) 16 22 ( 2) 718 354 162 58 149 27 61 668 665 675 682 623 ( 2) 688 12 14 22 40 24 ( 2) 44 79.3 82.8 ( 3) ( 3) 74.4 ( 3) ( 3) 1,082 81 554 308 738 1,383 843 578 12 168 16 14 455 – 157 249 609 – 715 581 10 – 30 13 627 81 397 58 870 1,381 884 561 17 175 18 69 69.9 – 80.9 103.6 Sales occupations ........................................................ Supervisors and proprietors ....................................... Sales representatives, finance and business services ............................................................... Insurance sales ........................................................ Real estate sales ...................................................... Securities and financial services sales ..................... Advertising and related sales ................................... Sales occupations, other business services ............. Sales representatives, commodities, except retail ..... Sales workers, retail and personal services ............... Sales workers, motor vehicles and boats ................. Sales workers, apparel ............................................. Sales workers, furniture and home furnishings ........ Sales workers, radio, television, hi-fi, and appliances ......................................................... Sales workers, hardware and building supplies ....... Sales workers, parts ................................................. Sales workers, other commodities ............................ Sales counter clerks ................................................. Cashiers ................................................................... Street and door-to-door sales workers ..................... 9,636 3,205 502 570 4 8 4,338 1,345 372 449 4 7 5,299 1,860 622 649 5 9 59.8 69.2 1,774 374 353 377 150 520 1,287 3,347 285 153 110 659 629 663 758 631 626 728 312 587 296 458 11 20 22 25 43 18 11 3 18 11 29 792 179 196 115 90 212 317 1,865 30 116 47 566 534 575 598 594 516 603 272 ( 2) 283 ( 2) 15 36 40 13 21 28 16 2 ( 2) 11 ( 2) 982 195 157 262 60 308 970 1,483 256 37 63 772 760 763 930 760 715 765 412 609 ( 2) 509 17 35 18 52 102 34 12 7 20 2 ( ) 22 73.2 70.3 75.4 64.3 78.1 72.2 78.9 66.1 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 189 211 144 670 86 1,350 87 410 434 390 311 296 267 404 12 19 15 5 17 2 26 45 42 15 411 59 1,015 53 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 287 266 259 355 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 5 10 2 15 144 169 130 258 27 335 34 431 461 403 388 ( 2) 302 ( 2) 22 25 16 17 ( 2) 6 ( 2) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 74.0 ( 3) 85.7 ( 3) See footnotes at end of table. 6 Table 3. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex, 1998 annual averages–Continued Both sexes Occupation Women Men Women’s Number Number Number earnings Standard Standard Standard of Median of Median of Median as error error error workers workers workers percent weekly weekly weekly of of of earnings earnings earnings (in (in (in of men’s1 median median median thousands) thousands) thousands) Administrative support, including clerical ...................... Supervisors ................................................................. General office ........................................................... Financial records processing .................................... Distribution, scheduling, and adjusting clerks .................................................. Computer equipment operators .................................. Computer operators .................................................. Secretaries, stenographers, and typists ..................... Secretaries ............................................................... Stenographers .......................................................... Typists ...................................................................... Information clerks ....................................................... Interviewers .............................................................. Hotel clerks ............................................................... Transportation ticket and reservation agents ........... Receptionists ............................................................ Records processing, except financial ......................... Order clerks .............................................................. Personnel clerks, except payroll and timekeeping ... Library clerks ............................................................ File clerks ................................................................. Records clerks .......................................................... Financial records processing ...................................... Bookkeepers, accounting, and auditing clerks ......... Payroll and timekeeping clerks ................................. Billing clerks .............................................................. Billing, posting, and calculating machine operators .. Duplicating, mail and other office machine operators ............................................................ Communications equipment operators ....................... Telephone operators ................................................ Mail and message distributing .................................... Postal clerks, except mail carriers ............................ Mail carriers, postal service ...................................... Mail clerks, except postal service ............................. Messengers .............................................................. Material recording, scheduling, and distributing clerks ................................................................... Dispatchers ............................................................... Production coordinators ............................................ Traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks ...................... Stock and inventory clerks ........................................ Expediters ................................................................. Adjusters and investigators ........................................ Insurance adjusters, examiners, and investigators .. Investigators and adjusters, except insurance ......... Eligibility clerks, social welfare ................................. Bill and account collectors ........................................ Miscellaneous administrative support occupations .... General office clerks ................................................. Bank tellers ............................................................... Data-entry keyers ..................................................... Statistical clerks ........................................................ Teachers’ aides ........................................................ 14,229 689 384 87 438 599 586 616 2 9 11 20 10,862 413 267 72 418 556 547 590 1 13 14 18 3,368 276 117 15 518 679 698 ( 2) 4 20 28 ( 2) 80.7 81.9 78.3 ( 3) 199 346 343 2,717 2,234 64 419 1,328 113 84 215 664 742 217 65 64 209 174 1,485 1,078 130 153 84 620 511 513 437 431 456 467 367 399 311 463 352 417 451 491 358 368 440 429 428 476 413 415 23 11 11 4 5 21 11 4 12 8 29 5 7 16 18 24 11 17 5 6 13 10 21 66 192 192 2,658 2,199 61 397 1,186 97 64 160 645 592 160 54 51 169 147 1,351 987 117 131 81 551 477 478 436 430 456 469 363 393 312 433 351 416 450 487 349 367 436 426 426 474 409 409 66 12 12 4 4 20 10 3 12 8 31 4 7 15 15 28 10 16 4 5 13 10 18 133 153 151 59 35 3 22 142 15 20 55 19 150 57 11 13 40 27 134 91 13 22 3 640 591 595 484 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 453 ( 2) ( 2) 563 ( 2) 419 455 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 466 455 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 26 18 18 30 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 32 ( 2) ( 2) 51 ( 2) 12 47 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 19 20 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 86.2 80.7 80.3 90.1 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 80.1 ( 3) ( 3) 77.0 ( 3) 99.4 99.0 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 91.5 93.5 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 66 144 128 858 308 316 138 95 346 397 399 603 640 681 372 392 20 17 16 9 14 9 13 23 36 114 109 309 140 87 63 19 ( 2) 368 372 542 617 613 332 ( 2) ( 2) 13 14 18 17 18 14 ( 2) 29 29 19 549 168 230 75 76 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 633 668 699 443 408 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 14 22 10 35 23 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 85.6 92.3 87.7 75.0 ( 3) 1,717 218 249 562 405 192 1,572 420 881 87 183 2,568 526 291 572 87 353 446 479 581 408 432 403 470 522 455 459 433 401 400 330 418 409 307 7 11 15 7 13 14 6 12 8 18 12 4 8 7 7 25 6 738 105 141 164 169 126 1,161 297 661 74 129 2,111 422 265 467 72 326 414 403 518 385 406 373 445 487 431 449 411 389 392 329 409 386 304 6 15 16 14 16 15 6 10 9 15 12 3 7 7 7 24 6 980 113 108 398 235 66 411 124 220 13 53 457 104 25 106 15 27 476 516 724 416 452 477 567 671 522 ( 2) 494 482 453 ( 2) 470 ( 2) ( 2) 8 13 36 8 17 39 18 23 20 ( 2) 40 10 32 ( 2) 24 ( 2) ( 2) 86.9 78.0 71.6 92.4 89.9 78.1 78.4 72.6 82.6 ( 3) 83.2 80.6 86.4 ( 3) 87.1 ( 3) ( 3) Service occupations ....................................................... Private household ......................................................... Child care workers ...................................................... Cleaners and servants ................................................ Protective service ......................................................... Supervisors ................................................................. Police and detectives ................................................ 10,592 381 136 236 2,140 215 117 327 223 204 235 598 771 853 2 6 11 12 6 29 55 5,301 362 132 225 323 18 11 296 220 208 227 481 ( 2) ( 2) 1 5 11 10 15 ( 2) ( 2) 5,291 19 4 11 1,817 198 105 389 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 613 786 864 4 ( 2) 2 ( ) ( 2) 7 42 51 76.1 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 78.4 ( 3) ( 3) See footnotes at end of table. 7 Table 3. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex, 1998 annual averages–Continued Both sexes Occupation Guards ...................................................................... Firefighting and fire prevention ................................... Firefighting ................................................................ Police and detectives .................................................. Police and detectives, public service ........................ Sheriffs, bailiffs, and other law enforcement officers ............................................................... Correctional institution officers ................................. Guards ........................................................................ Guards and police, except public services ............... Service occupations, except private household and protective .............................................................. Food preparation and service occupations ................. Supervisors ............................................................... Bartenders ................................................................ Waiters and waitresses ............................................ Cooks, except short order ........................................ Food counter, fountain and related occupations ...... Kitchen workers, food preparation ............................ Waiters’ and waitresses’ assistants .......................... Miscellaneous food preparation occupations ........... Health service occupations ......................................... Dental assistants ...................................................... Health aides, except nursing .................................... Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants .................. Cleaning and building service occupations ................ Supervisors ............................................................... Maids and housemen ............................................... Janitors and cleaners ............................................... Pest control ............................................................... Personal service occupations ..................................... Supervisors ............................................................... Hairdressers and cosmetologists ............................. Attendants, amusement and recreation facilities ...... Public transportation attendants ............................... Early childhood teachers’ assistants ........................ Precision production, craft, and repair ............................ Mechanics and repairers .............................................. Supervisors ................................................................. Mechanics and repairers, except supervisors ............ Vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics and repairers ............................................................ Automobile mechanics ........................................... Bus, truck, and stationary engine mechanics ......... Aircraft engine mechanics ...................................... Automobile body and related repairers ................... Heavy equipment mechanics ................................. Industrial machinery repairers .................................. Electrical and electronic equipment repairers ........... Electronic repairers, communications and industrial equipment ........................................ Data processing equipment repairers ..................... Telephone installers and repairers ......................... Miscellaneous electrical and electronic equipment repairers ......................................... Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics ......................................................... Miscellaneous mechanics and repairers .................. Office machine repairers ........................................ Millwrights ............................................................... Construction trades ...................................................... Supervisors ................................................................. Women Men Women’s Number Number Number earnings Standard Standard Standard of Median of Median of Median as error error error workers workers workers percent weekly weekly weekly of of of earnings earnings earnings (in (in (in of men’s1 median median median thousands) thousands) thousands) 54 230 210 1,050 602 506 732 734 646 723 32 28 27 10 13 6 6 5 168 72 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 583 633 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 17 23 47 224 205 882 530 ( 2) 731 731 662 738 ( 2) 27 27 11 13 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 88.1 85.7 164 284 645 611 594 557 369 375 14 24 10 11 27 69 132 116 ( 2) 509 330 347 ( 2) 23 20 20 137 215 513 495 595 571 378 382 16 22 12 12 ( 3) 89.3 87.3 90.8 8,070 3,032 233 178 575 1,250 100 135 233 327 1,718 153 234 1,330 2,234 157 453 1,567 54 1,086 65 289 111 76 239 307 288 352 336 300 289 242 274 267 265 318 369 346 311 319 401 277 327 358 311 503 313 321 524 265 1 2 18 12 6 3 7 8 6 5 3 13 10 3 2 11 5 5 22 4 39 7 13 72 8 4,616 1,451 131 96 416 419 59 93 115 124 1,500 151 189 1,160 856 62 357 435 2 809 33 259 48 60 231 295 271 304 293 282 259 241 275 265 269 315 369 335 308 288 348 272 292 ( 2) 301 ( 2) 313 ( 2) 575 264 2 3 8 22 6 4 9 9 8 8 3 11 11 3 3 15 4 5 ( 2) 4 ( 2) 6 ( 2) 48 7 3,455 1,581 103 83 159 831 40 42 119 204 218 3 45 170 1,378 95 96 1,132 52 278 32 31 63 16 8 325 303 427 379 343 305 ( 2) ( 2) 268 263 342 ( 2) ( 2) 330 358 457 305 355 356 368 ( 2) ( 2) 382 ( 2) ( 2) 3 3 31 20 12 4 ( 2) ( 2) 8 6 10 ( 2) ( 2) 12 6 29 13 7 23 14 ( 2) ( 2) 34 ( 2) ( 2) 90.8 89.4 71.3 77.4 82.1 85.1 ( 3) ( 3) 99.0 102.5 92.2 ( 3) ( 3) 93.4 80.4 76.3 89.0 82.4 ( 3) 81.8 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 11,691 4,081 247 3,834 572 597 743 590 4 4 18 4 949 155 15 140 408 519 ( 2) 516 5 20 ( 2) 23 10,741 3,926 232 3,694 587 599 748 592 3 4 18 4 69.5 86.8 ( 3) 87.1 1,494 653 312 140 134 159 532 764 552 493 563 780 510 636 608 665 11 9 17 20 17 20 15 16 12 2 3 4 12 82 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) – – ( 2) 550 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) – – ( 2) 38 1,482 652 309 136 134 159 520 682 552 494 561 782 510 636 611 677 11 9 17 22 17 20 15 13 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) – – ( 3) 81.2 160 224 225 579 641 750 32 19 18 11 36 30 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 148 189 194 590 657 762 33 20 19 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 81 644 69 3 ( 2) ( 2) 77 629 55 ( 3) 246 786 59 84 4,054 481 594 584 594 712 543 708 15 9 20 19 7 13 1 32 1 1 64 4 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 408 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 18 ( 2) 244 753 57 83 3,989 477 594 588 598 714 545 709 14 9 20 19 7 13 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 74.8 ( 3) See footnotes at end of table. 8 – – Table 3. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex, 1998 annual averages–Continued Both sexes Occupation Construction trades, except supervisors .................... Brickmasons and stonemasons ................................ Carpet installers ........................................................ Carpenters ................................................................ Drywall installers ....................................................... Electricians ............................................................... Electrical power installers and repairers ................... Painters, construction and maintenance .................. Plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, and apprentices ....................................................... Concrete and terrazzo finishers ................................ Roofers ..................................................................... Structural metalworkers ............................................ Extractive occupations .................................................. Precision production occupations ................................. Supervisors ................................................................. Precision metalworking occupations .......................... Tool and die makers ................................................. Machinists ................................................................. Sheet-metal workers ................................................. Precision woodworking occupations ........................... Cabinet makers and bench carpenters ..................... Precision textile, apparel, and furnishings machine workers ................................................. Precision workers, assorted materials ........................ Optical goods workers .............................................. Electrical and electronic equipment assemblers ...... Precision food production occupations ....................... Butchers and meat cutters ........................................ Bakers ...................................................................... Precision inspectors, testers, and related workers ..... Inspectors, testers, and graders ............................... Plant and system operators ........................................ Water and sewage treatment plant operators .......... Stationary engineers ................................................. Operators, fabricators, and laborers ............................... Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors .......... Machine operators and tenders, except precision ...... Metalworking and plastic working machine operators ........................................................... Punching and stamping press machine operators ......................................................... Grinding, abrading, buffing, and polishing machine operators ........................................... Metal and plastic processing machine operators ..... Molding and casting machine operators ................. Woodworking machine operators ............................. Sawing machine operators ..................................... Printing machine operators ....................................... Printing press operators ......................................... Textile, apparel, and furnishings machine operators ........................................................... Textile sewing machine operators .......................... Pressing machine operators ................................... Laundering and dry cleaning machine operators ... Machine operators, assorted materials .................... Packaging and filling machine operators ................ Mixing and blending machine operators ................. Painting and paint spraying machine operators ..... Furnace, kiln, and oven operators, except food .................................................................. Slicing and cutting machine operators .................... Photographic process machine operators .............. Women Men Women’s Number Number Number earnings Standard Standard Standard of Median of Median of Median as error error error workers workers workers percent weekly weekly weekly of of of earnings earnings earnings (in (in (in of men’s1 median median median thousands) thousands) thousands) 3,573 125 68 920 136 717 135 336 520 573 476 490 493 643 789 402 4 33 32 7 12 15 84 9 428 72 172 54 120 3,436 1,136 873 130 508 116 88 60 593 483 441 583 633 558 645 610 784 594 584 475 531 14 18 29 58 63 7 11 9 22 10 24 62 61 122 489 65 319 333 199 97 139 134 256 57 125 387 402 412 381 401 416 352 623 630 694 586 714 15,082 6,987 4,452 403 ( 2) – ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 18 ( 2) – ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 3,512 123 68 909 134 701 134 321 522 573 476 491 496 642 795 406 5 33 32 7 12 15 85 9 77.2 ( 3) – ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 1 729 193 57 1 33 4 11 4 ( 2) – ( 2) – ( 2) 392 478 444 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) – ( 2) – ( 2) 5 11 24 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 422 72 171 54 119 2,707 943 816 129 475 112 77 55 595 483 443 583 631 611 686 621 786 601 591 507 552 14 18 29 58 60 5 10 10 22 10 25 35 65 ( 3) – ( 3) – ( 3) 64.1 69.7 71.4 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 11 8 20 10 8 8 17 32 38 19 27 23 42 285 39 218 95 35 37 37 36 8 4 2 ( 2) 361 ( 2) 357 344 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 9 ( 2) 10 14 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 80 203 26 101 238 164 60 103 98 248 54 123 394 501 ( 2) 472 422 456 375 676 680 703 600 718 12 14 ( 2) 28 9 32 29 31 27 19 26 24 ( 3) 72.0 ( 3) 75.5 81.7 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 415 406 399 2 3 3 3,518 2,505 1,586 327 328 320 2 3 3 11,564 4,482 2,866 456 472 461 3 4 5 71.6 69.4 69.4 389 475 12 66 387 17 323 496 12 78.0 108 406 22 32 ( 2) ( 2) 77 440 23 ( 3) 120 160 102 127 81 357 279 441 446 430 379 366 495 490 36 14 14 15 16 10 12 12 33 25 21 11 83 46 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 384 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 19 ( 2) 108 127 77 106 70 273 233 453 468 448 394 375 533 514 34 14 15 17 20 21 13 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 72.1 ( 3) 784 435 64 136 2,616 363 119 189 293 280 276 287 416 327 455 413 4 5 10 7 4 9 31 14 569 361 47 76 807 208 7 24 285 278 ( 2) 270 347 316 ( 2) ( 2) 4 4 9 5 6 2 ( ) ( 2) 215 74 17 61 1,809 155 112 166 318 300 ( 2) 301 465 358 459 422 7 17 2 ( ) 8 7 19 30 20 89.6 92.4 ( 3) 89.7 74.6 88.2 ( 3) ( 3) 77 164 77 554 389 321 34 20 12 2 43 43 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 75 121 33 558 445 ( 2) 34 28 ( 2) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) See footnotes at end of table. 9 61 2 – 10 3 16 1 15 5 – 1 – ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) Table 3. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and sex, 1998 annual averages–Continued Both sexes Occupation Fabricators, assemblers, and hand working occupations ....................................................... Welders and cutters ................................................ Assemblers ............................................................. Production inspectors, testers, samplers, and weighers ............................................................ Production inspectors, checkers, and examiners ... Graders and sorters, except agricultural ................ Women Men Women’s Number Number Number earnings Standard Standard Standard of Median of Median of Median as error error error workers workers workers percent weekly weekly weekly of of of earnings earnings earnings (in (in (in of men’s1 median median median thousands) thousands) thousands) 1,845 550 1,199 421 518 392 5 11 6 589 30 516 347 ( 2) 347 5 ( 2) 6 1,256 519 683 482 527 445 8 13 12 72.0 ( 3) 77.9 690 487 150 412 448 306 8 15 9 330 233 85 336 358 289 7 8 8 360 254 65 517 544 351 11 23 22 65.0 65.8 82.2 Transportation and material moving occupations ......... Motor vehicle operators .............................................. Supervisors ............................................................... Truck drivers ............................................................. Drivers--sales workers .............................................. Bus drivers ................................................................ Taxicab drivers and chauffeurs ................................ Transportation occupations, except motor vehicles ... Rail transportation .................................................... Material moving equipment operators ........................ Operating engineers ................................................. Crane and tower operators ....................................... Excavating and loading machine operators .............. Grader, dozer, and scraper operators ...................... Industrial truck and tractor equipment operators ...... Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers .. Helpers, construction and extractive occupations ...... Helpers, construction trades ..................................... Construction laborers ................................................. Freight, stock, and material handlers ......................... Stock handlers and baggers ..................................... Machine feeders and offbearers ............................... Garage and service station related occupations ........ Vehicle washers and equipment cleaners .................. Hand packers and packagers ..................................... Laborers, except construction .................................... 4,322 3,144 79 2,458 143 273 162 150 101 1,028 223 65 80 59 501 3,773 112 108 729 1,192 563 66 127 213 255 1,055 510 503 595 516 526 428 379 834 849 505 570 576 557 572 452 351 341 335 390 339 300 363 293 317 304 373 4 4 33 5 32 19 21 40 54 6 20 33 25 39 13 3 18 17 7 6 5 14 9 9 6 6 345 273 18 114 14 112 12 10 8 62 6 4 – 2 39 669 1 1 23 236 157 20 9 23 164 202 373 362 ( 2) 371 ( 2) 352 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 397 ( 2) ( 2) – ( 2) ( 2) 311 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 312 291 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 301 331 13 15 ( 2) 26 ( 2) 17 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 23 ( 2) ( 2) – ( 2) ( 2) 4 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 7 7 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 8 12 3,977 2,870 61 2,345 129 160 150 141 93 966 217 61 79 58 463 3,105 110 106 706 956 406 46 118 190 92 853 519 514 625 520 554 476 386 862 888 510 568 572 558 578 455 362 340 334 393 350 304 ( 2) 297 322 307 384 4 5 62 6 42 19 21 39 48 6 19 36 25 22 14 3 19 19 7 7 6 ( 2) 9 10 9 7 71.9 70.4 ( 3) 71.3 ( 3) 74.0 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 77.9 ( 3) ( 3) – ( 3) ( 3) 85.8 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 89.1 95.8 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 98.3 86.1 Farming, forestry, and fishing ......................................... Farm operators and managers ..................................... Farm managers .......................................................... Other agricultural and related occupations ................... Farm occupations, except managerial ........................ Farm workers ............................................................ Related agricultural occupations ................................ Supervisors, related agricultural ............................... Groundskeepers and gardeners, except farm .......... Animal caretakers, except farm ................................ Graders and sorters, agricultural products ............... 1,555 69 63 1,425 650 602 775 63 598 51 61 302 424 459 298 285 281 308 469 306 300 259 3 43 67 3 5 5 4 24 4 21 6 218 10 9 204 88 77 117 4 29 38 45 272 ( 2) ( 2) 270 264 262 274 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 5 ( 2) ( 2) 5 7 8 8 ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) ( 2) 1,337 59 53 1,221 563 525 658 59 569 13 15 307 475 486 303 288 285 314 479 306 ( 2) ( 2) 3 59 24 3 5 5 4 28 4 ( 2) ( 2) 88.6 ( 3) ( 3) 89.3 91.7 91.9 87.5 ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) ( 3) 1 These figures are computed using unrounded medians and may differ slightly from percents computed using the rounded medians displayed in this table. 2 Data not shown where base is less than 50,000. 3 Data not shown where base for either the numerator or denominator is less than 50,000. 10 Table 4. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by sex and State, 1998 annual averages Both sexes Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings UNITED STATES ..................... 95,595 $523 Alabama ....................................... Alaska ........................................... Arizona ......................................... Arkansas ....................................... California ...................................... 1,532 203 1,556 833 10,776 Colorado ....................................... Connecticut ................................... Delaware ...................................... District of Columbia ...................... Florida ........................................... Women Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings $1 41,282 $456 476 653 476 397 574 9 14 9 7 5 674 89 649 378 4,453 1,557 1,188 281 197 5,106 577 646 542 602 476 10 15 19 9 5 Georgia ......................................... Hawaii ........................................... Idaho ............................................. Illinois ............................................ Indiana .......................................... 2,966 393 425 4,350 2,178 493 516 480 572 536 Iowa .............................................. Kansas .......................................... Kentucky ....................................... Louisiana ...................................... Maine ............................................ 1,057 928 1,396 1,464 402 Maryland ....................................... Massachusetts .............................. Michigan ....................................... Minnesota ..................................... Mississippi .................................... Men Women’s earnings as percent of men’s1 Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings $2 54,313 $598 $2 76.3 403 543 416 345 520 8 14 9 8 5 857 114 907 455 6,323 543 766 523 452 606 22 27 15 11 5 74.1 71.0 79.6 76.2 85.7 675 516 125 96 2,312 493 532 472 582 416 9 16 14 10 4 881 672 156 101 2,793 637 766 609 632 516 15 21 11 17 5 77.4 69.5 77.6 92.1 80.6 7 9 7 7 10 1,342 187 164 1,879 930 421 468 396 487 429 6 9 10 5 9 1,624 206 261 2,470 1,248 583 611 556 641 624 9 18 16 12 12 72.2 76.5 71.3 76.0 68.7 489 497 475 463 472 8 9 9 10 8 465 387 608 667 171 407 416 392 381 409 8 8 7 8 8 593 541 788 797 231 553 562 551 544 517 11 12 17 14 10 73.7 74.0 71.3 70.0 79.1 2,015 2,226 3,490 1,718 937 612 603 598 595 450 8 6 6 9 10 925 954 1,398 715 431 535 526 482 519 380 22 10 7 8 8 1,091 1,272 2,091 1,003 506 685 665 686 646 515 17 14 11 14 8 78.1 79.1 70.2 80.2 73.8 Missouri ........................................ Montana ........................................ Nebraska ...................................... Nevada ......................................... New Hampshire ............................ 2,018 260 587 677 441 506 445 492 492 580 7 9 7 7 10 924 112 263 291 181 454 382 409 423 484 10 8 9 8 10 1,095 149 324 386 260 562 504 549 556 638 16 10 15 19 18 80.8 75.7 74.4 76.1 75.9 New Jersey ................................... New Mexico .................................. New York ...................................... North Carolina .............................. North Dakota ................................ 2,968 542 6,109 2,865 214 622 489 573 470 438 6 8 6 6 9 1,313 228 2,631 1,289 99 533 410 508 409 358 11 9 5 5 7 1,655 314 3,478 1,577 115 713 557 617 521 513 10 18 6 7 8 74.7 73.7 82.3 78.4 69.8 Ohio .............................................. Oklahoma ..................................... Oregon .......................................... Pennsylvania ................................ Rhode Island ................................ 3,944 1,128 1,138 4,011 338 541 454 523 545 549 7 8 13 6 17 1,679 495 448 1,738 153 446 388 432 464 455 7 8 15 8 17 2,265 633 690 2,273 186 627 532 598 614 638 8 16 11 7 16 71.2 72.9 72.2 75.6 71.2 South Carolina .............................. South Dakota ................................ Tennessee .................................... Texas ............................................ Utah .............................................. 1,446 251 1,978 7,354 694 484 422 453 476 507 7 7 9 4 7 681 111 918 3,120 280 404 377 394 418 406 8 7 7 4 8 766 140 1,059 4,235 414 554 479 525 525 604 15 10 13 8 11 73.0 78.7 75.1 79.7 67.3 Vermont ........................................ Virginia .......................................... Washington ................................... West Virginia ................................ Wisconsin ..................................... Wyoming ....................................... 200 2,583 2,016 541 1,957 160 490 567 602 455 532 509 8 12 9 11 10 10 88 1,117 805 225 841 64 421 488 509 370 460 395 8 8 10 9 8 10 112 1,466 1,211 316 1,117 97 550 636 663 523 614 603 21 19 17 13 10 12 76.5 76.7 76.7 70.7 74.9 65.5 State Standard error of median 1 These figures are computed using unrounded medians and may differ slightly from percents computed using the rounded medians displayed in this table. Standard error of median Standard error of median NOTE: Data refer to persons 16 years and over. 11 Table 5. Median usual weekly earnings of part-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, 1998 annual averages Both sexes Characteristic Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings 20,862 8,082 4,712 3,371 12,780 3,500 3,640 2,494 1,727 1,418 $156 118 105 148 192 204 205 208 168 140 17,886 2,096 1,828 9,435 8,880 2,548 1,323 578 647 Women Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings $1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 2 3 14,361 4,500 2,524 1,976 9,861 2,643 3,099 2,096 1,254 769 $161 118 103 145 191 199 204 205 164 133 157 149 154 1 2 3 12,416 1,408 1,196 125 197 169 183 173 142 1 1 2 3 4 4 5,166 7,148 2,048 1,024 456 568 Standard error of median Men Women’s earnings as percent of men’s1 Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings $1 1 1 2 1 2 2 3 3 3 6,501 3,582 2,187 1,395 2,919 857 541 398 473 649 $146 119 107 151 197 218 212 223 182 150 $1 1 1 2 2 4 5 8 7 4 110.3 98.6 96.9 96.5 96.8 91.4 96.2 91.6 90.0 88.6 163 151 150 1 2 3 5,470 688 632 146 145 162 1 4 5 111.7 104.6 92.5 124 197 165 178 170 141 1 2 2 4 4 4 4,269 1,733 500 299 122 79 126 196 188 201 184 151 1 3 5 7 7 12 97.7 100.6 87.8 88.8 92.1 93.8 Standard error of median Standard error of median AGE Total, 16 years and over ......... 16 to 24 years ............................... 16 to 19 years ............................ 20 to 24 years ............................ 25 years and over ......................... 25 to 34 years ............................ 35 to 44 years ............................ 45 to 54 years ............................ 55 to 64 years ............................ 65 years and over ...................... RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN White ............................................ Black ............................................. Hispanic origin .............................. MARITAL STATUS Never married ............................... Married, spouse present ............... Other marital status ...................... Divorced .................................... Separated .................................. Widowed .................................... 1 These figures are computed using unrounded medians and may differ slightly from percents computed using the rounded medians displayed in this table. NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. 12 Table 6. Median usual weekly earnings of (full- and part-time) employed wage and salary workers by hours usually worked and sex, 1998 annual averages Both sexes Hours of work Number of workers (in thousands) Total, 16 years and over ........ 116,730 34 hours or less ............................ 18,347 4 hours or less ............................ 443 5 to 9 hours ................................. 1,023 10 to 14 hours ............................. 1,626 15 to 19 hours ............................. 2,508 20 to 24 hours ............................. 5,712 25 to 29 hours ............................. 2,426 30 to 34 hours ............................. 4,610 35 hours or more .......................... 90,368 35 to 39 hours ............................. 7,087 40 hours .................................... 60,925 41 hours or more ...................... 22,356 41 to 44 hours ......................... 1,561 45 to 48 hours ......................... 6,755 49 to 59 hours ......................... 9,545 60 hours ................................. 4,495 Hours vary .................................... 8,016 Usually less than 35 hours ......... 2,516 Usually 35 hours or more ........... 5,228 Median weekly earnings $458 160 35 60 72 112 153 186 245 524 367 484 758 585 680 819 875 322 128 485 Women Standard error of median $1 1 3 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 3 1 3 8 6 6 10 4 2 5 Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings 55,757 12,783 314 718 1,092 1,747 3,886 1,704 3,323 39,374 4,923 27,857 6,595 654 2,376 2,601 963 3,600 1,579 1,908 $376 165 32 61 74 113 159 194 250 460 364 433 662 512 624 737 727 223 128 368 1 These figures are computed using unrounded medians and may differ slightly from percents computed using the rounded medians displayed in this table. NOTE: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time workers. Men Standard error of median $1 1 4 1 2 1 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 8 6 7 14 3 3 8 Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings 60,973 5,564 129 305 534 761 1,826 722 1,287 50,993 2,164 33,068 15,762 907 4,379 6,944 3,532 4,416 937 3,320 $548 148 44 57 69 108 141 171 232 600 373 523 804 648 716 853 919 442 129 558 Standard error of median $2 1 8 2 2 1 2 2 4 2 7 2 5 15 7 7 10 9 4 11 Women’s earnings as percent of men’s1 68.6 111.3 73.4 106.2 106.6 105.1 112.3 113.5 107.4 76.6 97.7 82.8 82.3 79.1 87.1 86.4 79.1 50.4 98.9 66.0 Detail for the above "hours vary" groups will not sum to totals because data are not presented for a small number of multiple jobholders whose usual number of hours on the principal job is not identifiable. 13 Table 7. Quartiles and selected deciles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, 1998 annual averages Characteristic Number of workers (in thousands) Upper limit of: First decile First quartile Second quartile (median) Third quartile Ninth decile SEX, RACE, AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Total, 16 years and over ........................................................... Women ................................................................................... Men ......................................................................................... 95,595 41,282 54,313 $256 236 279 $347 312 388 $523 456 598 $789 662 895 $1,155 943 1,289 White ...................................................................................... Women ................................................................................. Men ....................................................................................... 79,403 33,316 46,087 262 240 284 359 318 401 545 468 615 818 675 921 1,180 959 1,338 Black ....................................................................................... Women ................................................................................. Men ....................................................................................... 11,776 6,025 5,751 231 222 245 301 288 317 426 400 468 626 589 681 886 808 950 Hispanic origin ........................................................................ Women ................................................................................. Men ....................................................................................... 10,532 3,816 6,716 216 199 228 272 253 284 370 337 390 563 507 594 818 717 887 Total, 25 years and over ........................................................... Less than a high school diploma ............................................ High school graduates, no college ......................................... Some college or associate degree ......................................... College graduates, total .......................................................... 84,549 8,576 27,131 23,210 25,632 275 204 259 291 410 379 257 338 391 586 572 337 479 558 821 836 486 667 774 1,173 1,198 679 899 1,040 1,657 Women, 25 years and over ...................................................... Less than a high school diploma ............................................ High school graduates, no college ......................................... Some college or associate degree ......................................... College graduates, total .......................................................... 36,561 2,874 11,787 10,744 11,156 249 184 232 271 383 331 228 297 345 522 485 283 396 476 707 695 370 532 642 967 974 493 698 857 1,322 Men, 25 years and over ............................................................ Less than a high school diploma ............................................ High school graduates, no college ......................................... Some college or associate degree ......................................... College graduates, total .......................................................... 47,988 5,702 15,344 12,466 14,476 299 225 293 324 452 425 283 394 457 643 639 383 559 643 939 940 535 761 888 1,353 1,353 740 1,000 1,162 1,895 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT NOTE: Ten percent of all full-time wage and salary workers earn less than the upper limit of the first decile; 25 percent earn less than the upper limit of the first quartile; 50 percent earn less than the upper limit of the second quartile, or median; 75 percent earn less than the upper limit of the third quartile; and 90 percent earn less than the upper limit of the ninth decile. Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. 14 Table 8. Usual weekly earnings distribution of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, 1998 annual averages (In thousands) Usual weekly earnings distribution Characteristic Total employed Under $150.00 $150.00 to $249.99 $250.00 to $349.99 $350.00 to $499.99 $500.00 to $749.99 $750.00 to $999.99 $1,000.00 to $1,499.99 $1,500.00 or more AGE AND SEX Total, 16 years and over ............................. 16 to 24 years ....................................................... 16 to 19 years .................................................... 20 to 24 years .................................................... 25 years and over ................................................. 25 to 34 years .................................................... 35 to 44 years .................................................... 45 to 54 years .................................................... 55 to 64 years .................................................... 65 years and over .............................................. 95,595 11,046 2,211 8,836 84,549 25,555 28,156 21,023 8,666 1,149 1,191 327 137 190 864 218 248 201 130 67 7,590 2,369 813 1,556 5,221 1,788 1,629 1,122 506 176 14,883 3,643 788 2,854 11,240 4,119 3,381 2,367 1,137 237 20,410 2,807 364 2,444 17,603 6,417 5,536 3,802 1,649 198 24,036 1,455 85 1,370 22,581 7,355 7,430 5,429 2,181 186 13,093 301 17 284 12,792 3,123 4,597 3,634 1,325 113 9,860 120 6 113 9,740 1,859 3,649 3,002 1,129 101 4,533 25 1 24 4,509 676 1,686 1,467 610 70 Women, 16 years and over ........................ 16 to 24 years ....................................................... 16 to 19 years .................................................... 20 to 24 years .................................................... 25 years and over ................................................. 25 to 34 years .................................................... 35 to 44 years .................................................... 45 to 54 years .................................................... 55 to 64 years .................................................... 65 years and over .............................................. 41,282 4,721 922 3,799 36,561 10,800 11,971 9,579 3,753 459 692 181 69 112 511 141 140 122 77 31 4,395 1,201 393 807 3,194 1,001 1,044 743 325 82 8,011 1,626 317 1,310 6,385 2,090 1,984 1,483 709 120 10,067 1,094 119 975 8,974 2,989 2,827 2,161 906 90 10,176 517 20 497 9,658 2,930 3,117 2,595 942 74 4,375 73 4 69 4,303 974 1,515 1,346 439 30 2,682 23 – 23 2,659 518 1,008 844 263 26 883 6 – 6 877 157 336 285 93 6 Men, 16 years and over .............................. 16 to 24 years ....................................................... 16 to 19 years .................................................... 20 to 24 years .................................................... 25 years and over ................................................. 25 to 34 years .................................................... 35 to 44 years .................................................... 45 to 54 years .................................................... 55 to 64 years .................................................... 65 years and over .............................................. 54,313 6,325 1,288 5,037 47,988 14,756 16,185 11,444 4,914 689 499 146 68 78 353 77 108 79 52 37 3,195 1,168 420 748 2,027 788 585 378 181 95 6,871 2,016 472 1,545 4,855 2,029 1,397 884 428 117 10,343 1,714 245 1,469 8,630 3,428 2,709 1,641 743 108 13,860 937 64 873 12,923 4,425 4,312 2,834 1,239 112 8,718 229 13 215 8,489 2,149 3,082 2,288 887 83 7,178 97 6 91 7,081 1,341 2,641 2,158 866 75 3,650 19 1 18 3,631 519 1,351 1,182 517 63 White, 16 years and over ...................................... Women ............................................................. Men ................................................................... 79,403 33,316 46,087 947 535 411 5,786 3,310 2,476 11,655 6,249 5,406 16,578 8,102 8,475 20,189 8,402 11,787 11,390 3,674 7,716 8,737 2,284 6,454 4,122 760 3,362 Black, 16 years and over ...................................... Women ............................................................. Men ................................................................... 11,776 6,025 5,751 180 117 63 1,414 857 557 2,508 1,397 1,111 2,948 1,541 1,407 2,788 1,325 1,463 1,099 463 636 663 268 395 175 56 119 Hispanic origin, 16 years and over ....................... Women ............................................................. Men ................................................................... 10,532 3,816 6,716 185 99 86 1,864 857 1,007 2,719 1,042 1,677 2,447 830 1,618 1,940 651 1,289 748 207 541 472 104 369 157 28 129 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. 15 Table 9. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by sex, marital status, and presence and age of own children under 18 years old, 1998 annual averages Standard error of median Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings Total, all marital statuses ............................................ With children under 18 years old ............................ With children 6 to 17, none younger .................... With children under 6 years old ........................... With no children under 18 years old ....................... 41,282 16,374 10,138 6,236 24,909 $456 440 458 414 467 $2 2 3 3 2 Total, married, spouse present ................................... With children under 18 years old ............................ With children 6 to 17, none younger .................... With children under 6 years old ........................... With no children under 18 years old ....................... 21,863 11,171 6,744 4,428 10,692 485 474 478 466 496 2 3 3 4 2 Total, other marital statuses1 ..................................... With children under 18 years old ............................ With children 6 to 17, none younger .................... With children under 6 years old ........................... With no children under 18 years old ....................... 19,419 5,202 3,394 1,808 14,217 421 384 419 326 442 2 3 3 4 3 Total, all marital statuses ............................................ With children under 18 years old ............................ With children 6 to 17, none younger .................... With children under 6 years old ........................... With no children under 18 years old ....................... 54,313 21,770 11,485 10,285 32,543 598 663 699 621 552 2 3 4 4 3 Total, married, spouse present ................................... With children under 18 years old ............................ With children 6 to 17, none younger .................... With children under 6 years old ........................... With no children under 18 years old ....................... 33,797 20,250 10,624 9,626 13,547 679 675 708 635 687 3 3 4 5 4 Total, other marital statuses1 ..................................... With children under 18 years old ............................ With children 6 to 17, none younger .................... With children under 6 years old ........................... With no children under 18 years old ....................... 20,516 1,520 861 659 18,996 477 522 597 451 473 2 9 12 15 3 Characteristic WOMEN MEN 1 Includes never-married, divorced, separated, and widowed persons. NOTE: Children refer to "own" children and include sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children. Excluded are other related children such as grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins, and unrelated children. 16 Table 10. Median hourly earnings of wage and salary workers paid hourly rates by selected characteristics, 1998 annual averages Both sexes Characteristic Number of workers (in thousands) Women Median hourly earnings Standard error of median Number of workers (in thousands) 71,440 16,361 6,482 9,879 55,080 17,298 18,070 12,445 5,660 1,606 $9.11 6.59 5.89 7.25 10.14 9.66 10.87 10.97 10.09 7.41 $0.03 0.05 0.03 0.06 0.03 0.09 0.08 0.10 0.10 0.27 58,512 9,773 9,065 9.23 8.40 7.93 24,174 35,319 11,947 7,608 2,949 1,390 Men Women’s earnings as percent of men’s1 Median hourly earnings Standard error of median Number of workers (in thousands) Median hourly earnings Standard error of median 35,680 7,949 3,263 4,686 27,730 8,185 9,127 6,606 2,972 841 $8.24 6.25 5.79 6.94 9.14 8.81 9.67 9.79 8.86 7.22 $0.04 0.04 0.03 0.05 0.04 0.07 0.13 0.09 0.15 0.17 35,761 8,411 3,219 5,192 27,349 9,114 8,943 5,839 2,688 765 $10.07 6.92 5.99 7.79 11.73 10.23 12.49 13.05 12.23 7.75 $0.04 0.05 0.04 0.06 0.10 0.10 0.22 0.19 0.35 0.34 81.8 90.3 96.7 89.1 77.9 86.1 77.4 75.0 72.4 93.1 0.05 0.14 0.09 28,812 5,281 3,651 8.34 7.91 7.23 0.06 0.08 0.11 29,700 4,492 5,414 10.19 9.10 8.25 0.05 0.10 0.16 81.9 86.9 87.5 7.29 10.41 9.45 10.01 8.64 8.02 0.05 0.09 0.15 0.08 0.22 0.16 11,141 17,216 7,323 4,526 1,634 1,163 6.93 9.20 8.71 9.16 7.98 7.88 0.04 0.06 0.11 0.10 0.13 0.15 13,033 18,103 4,624 3,082 1,316 226 7.81 12.09 10.83 11.53 9.71 9.36 0.05 0.07 0.18 0.42 0.35 0.84 88.7 76.1 80.5 79.4 82.2 84.2 10,885 11,794 59,646 13.77 13.53 8.52 0.17 0.21 0.05 3,593 4,051 31,628 11.23 11.19 8.02 0.17 0.15 0.03 7,293 7,743 28,018 14.94 14.87 9.17 0.09 0.09 0.05 75.2 75.2 87.4 55,080 8,082 22,462 16,738 7,798 10.14 7.76 9.93 11.02 13.98 0.03 0.08 0.04 0.08 0.21 27,730 3,271 11,048 9,005 4,407 9.14 6.68 8.59 9.95 13.35 0.04 0.09 0.08 0.05 0.35 27,349 4,812 11,414 7,733 3,391 11.73 8.77 11.81 12.86 14.78 0.10 0.13 0.09 0.16 0.31 77.9 76.2 72.7 77.4 90.4 AGE Total, 16 years and over ............. 16 to 24 years ....................................... 16 to 19 years .................................... 20 to 24 years .................................... 25 years and over ................................. 25 to 34 years .................................... 35 to 44 years .................................... 45 to 54 years .................................... 55 to 64 years .................................... 65 years and over .............................. RACE AND HISPANIC ORIGIN White .................................................... Black ..................................................... Hispanic origin ...................................... MARITAL STATUS Never married ....................................... Married, spouse present ....................... Other marital status .............................. Divorced ............................................ Separated .......................................... Widowed ............................................ UNION AFFILIATION2 Members of unions3 ............................. Represented by unions4 ....................... Not represented by a union .................. EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Total, 25 years and over ....................... Less than a high school diploma ........ High school graduates, no college ..... Some college or associate degree ..... College graduates, total ...................... 1 These figures are computed using unrounded medians and may differ slightly from percents computed using the rounded medians displayed in this table. 2 Differences in earnings levels between men and women with union affiliation reflect a variety of factors in addition to coverage by a collective bargaining agreement, including the distribution of male and female employees by occupation, industry, firm size, or geographic region. 3 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union. 4 Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union as well as workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract. NOTE: Hourly-paid workers account for approximately three-fifths of all wage and salary workers. Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. 17 Table 11. Hourly earnings distribution of wage and salary workers paid hourly rates by selected characteristics, 1998 annual averages (In thousands) Hourly earnings distribution Characteristic Total employed Under $4.00 $4.00 to $4.99 $5.00 to $5.99 $6.00 to $7.99 $8.00 to $9.99 $10.00 to $11.99 $12.00 to $15.99 $16.00 to $19.99 $20.00 or more AGE AND SEX Total, 16 years and over ......................... 16 to 24 years ................................................... 16 to 19 years ............................................. 20 to 24 years ............................................. 25 years and over ............................................. 25 to 34 years ............................................. 35 to 44 years ............................................. 45 to 54 years ............................................. 55 to 64 years ............................................. 65 years and over ....................................... 71,440 16,361 6,482 9,879 55,080 17,298 18,070 12,445 5,660 1,606 919 412 176 236 506 249 130 76 35 16 490 250 151 99 240 76 70 38 19 37 8,671 4,619 2,922 1,697 4,052 1,394 1,144 735 454 325 16,321 6,000 2,394 3,607 10,321 3,570 2,981 2,084 1,196 490 12,796 2,838 570 2,268 9,958 3,657 3,059 2,025 921 295 9,718 1,270 191 1,078 8,448 2,888 2,693 1,882 826 159 11,232 734 66 669 10,497 3,166 3,750 2,459 992 131 5,552 153 6 148 5,398 1,256 2,043 1,480 574 45 5,742 83 7 77 5,659 1,043 2,200 1,664 643 108 Women, 16 years and over .................... 16 to 24 years ................................................... 16 to 19 years ............................................. 20 to 24 years ............................................. 25 years and over ............................................. 25 to 34 years ............................................. 35 to 44 years ............................................. 45 to 54 years ............................................. 55 to 64 years ............................................. 65 years and over ....................................... 35,680 7,949 3,263 4,686 27,730 8,185 9,127 6,606 2,972 841 669 308 124 184 361 169 99 51 30 13 288 140 88 52 148 52 47 26 14 9 5,284 2,531 1,573 958 2,753 908 821 531 305 187 9,508 3,005 1,166 1,839 6,503 1,974 2,007 1,445 807 269 6,788 1,175 217 957 5,613 1,883 1,737 1,279 553 161 4,780 492 73 419 4,288 1,254 1,409 1,055 486 83 4,471 224 17 208 4,247 1,125 1,499 1,140 417 65 1,948 46 – 46 1,902 454 717 538 177 15 1,944 28 4 24 1,916 365 791 539 182 38 Men, 16 years and over .......................... 16 to 24 years ................................................... 16 to 19 years ............................................. 20 to 24 years ............................................. 25 years and over ............................................. 25 to 34 years ............................................. 35 to 44 years ............................................. 45 to 54 years ............................................. 55 to 64 years ............................................. 65 years and over ....................................... 35,761 8,411 3,219 5,192 27,349 9,114 8,943 5,839 2,688 765 249 104 51 53 145 79 31 25 6 4 202 109 63 47 93 25 23 12 5 28 3,387 2,088 1,350 739 1,299 486 323 204 148 138 6,813 2,996 1,227 1,768 3,818 1,596 974 639 388 221 6,008 1,663 353 1,311 4,345 1,774 1,322 746 368 134 4,938 778 118 660 4,160 1,634 1,284 827 341 76 6,760 510 49 461 6,250 2,040 2,251 1,319 574 65 3,604 107 6 102 3,497 802 1,326 941 397 30 3,798 56 2 53 3,743 678 1,409 1,125 461 70 White, 16 years and over .................................. Women ....................................................... Men ............................................................. 58,512 28,812 29,700 829 607 221 368 222 147 6,960 4,194 2,766 12,945 7,462 5,483 10,290 5,517 4,773 8,003 3,901 4,102 9,426 3,674 5,752 4,703 1,607 3,096 4,989 1,629 3,360 Black, 16 years and over .................................. Women ....................................................... Men ............................................................. 9,773 5,281 4,492 58 42 16 101 57 44 1,341 861 480 2,623 1,608 1,015 1,949 998 951 1,295 678 618 1,314 586 728 618 249 369 474 203 271 Hispanic origin, 16 years and over ................... Women ....................................................... Men ............................................................. 9,065 3,651 5,414 74 42 32 72 34 38 1,562 813 749 2,664 1,179 1,485 1,752 654 1,098 1,078 375 704 1,076 350 726 426 115 311 361 90 271 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX NOTE: Hourly-paid workers account for approximately three-fifths of all wage and salary workers. Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. 18 Table 12. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage ($5.15), by selected characteristics, 1998 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Workers paid hourly rates Total at or below $5.15 Characteristic Total Below $5.15 At $5.15 Number Percent of hourly-paid workers AGE AND SEX Total, 16 years and over ............................. 16 to 24 years ....................................................... 16 to 19 years .................................................... 20 to 24 years .................................................... 25 years and over ................................................. 25 to 34 years .................................................... 35 to 44 years .................................................... 45 to 54 years .................................................... 55 to 64 years .................................................... 65 years and over .............................................. 71,440 16,361 6,482 9,879 55,080 17,298 18,070 12,445 5,660 1,606 2,834 1,377 790 587 1,456 532 416 253 143 113 1,593 883 558 325 710 245 191 138 70 67 4,427 2,260 1,348 912 2,166 776 606 390 213 180 6.2 13.8 20.8 9.2 3.9 4.5 3.4 3.1 3.8 11.2 Women, 16 years and over ........................ 16 to 24 years ....................................................... 16 to 19 years .................................................... 20 to 24 years .................................................... 25 years and over ................................................. 25 to 34 years .................................................... 35 to 44 years .................................................... 45 to 54 years .................................................... 55 to 64 years .................................................... 65 years and over .............................................. 35,680 7,949 3,263 4,686 27,730 8,185 9,127 6,606 2,972 841 1,794 841 462 379 953 349 276 169 106 53 965 483 301 183 482 146 143 103 51 39 2,760 1,324 763 562 1,435 495 419 272 157 92 7.7 16.7 23.4 12.0 5.2 6.0 4.6 4.1 5.3 10.9 Men, 16 years and over .............................. 16 to 24 years ....................................................... 16 to 19 years .................................................... 20 to 24 years .................................................... 25 years and over ................................................. 25 to 34 years .................................................... 35 to 44 years .................................................... 45 to 54 years .................................................... 55 to 64 years .................................................... 65 years and over .............................................. 35,761 8,411 3,219 5,192 27,349 9,114 8,943 5,839 2,688 765 1,039 536 328 208 503 182 140 84 37 60 628 400 257 142 228 99 48 34 19 28 1,667 936 585 351 731 281 188 118 56 88 4.7 11.1 18.2 6.8 2.7 3.1 2.1 2.0 2.1 11.6 White, 16 years and over ...................................... Women ............................................................... Men ..................................................................... 58,512 28,812 29,700 2,290 1,463 827 1,269 770 498 3,559 2,233 1,325 6.1 7.8 4.5 Black, 16 years and over ...................................... Women ............................................................... Men ..................................................................... 9,773 5,281 4,492 431 264 167 274 167 106 705 432 273 7.2 8.2 6.1 Hispanic origin, 16 years and over ....................... Women ............................................................... Men ..................................................................... 9,065 3,651 5,414 393 194 199 276 150 126 669 345 325 7.4 9.4 6.0 Full-time workers .................................................. Women ............................................................... Men ..................................................................... 54,093 23,778 30,315 1,197 683 515 596 347 249 1,793 1,029 764 3.3 4.3 2.5 Part-time workers ................................................. Women ............................................................... Men ..................................................................... 17,198 11,831 5,367 1,628 1,108 520 993 617 376 2,621 1,725 896 15.2 14.6 16.7 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX FULL- AND PART-TIME STATUS AND SEX1 1 The distinction between full- and part-time workers is based on hours usually worked. These data will not sum to totals because full- or part-time status on the principal job is not identifiable for a small number of multiple jobholders. NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. 19 Table 13. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers in constant (1998) dollars by sex and age, 1979-98 annual averages 16 to 24 years 25 years and over Total, 16 years and over Total 16 to 19 years 20 to 24 years Total 25 to 34 years 35 to 44 years 45 to 54 years 55 to 64 years 65 years and over 1979 .............................. 1980 .............................. 1981 .............................. 1982 .............................. 1983 .............................. 1984 .............................. 1985 .............................. 19861 ............................ 1987 .............................. 1988 .............................. $531 519 513 515 513 512 521 534 537 531 $379 371 362 355 345 341 339 345 348 343 $317 305 292 280 268 265 264 265 266 270 $410 397 385 375 364 362 364 369 371 366 $584 567 558 557 562 568 574 582 578 571 $563 546 536 530 526 526 529 536 536 528 $617 598 589 603 605 611 615 623 624 620 $609 589 579 588 600 604 607 618 616 624 $576 564 558 554 567 574 577 590 582 577 $436 403 402 431 426 427 450 444 445 445 1989 .............................. 19901 ............................ 1991 .............................. 1992 .............................. 1993 .............................. 19941 ............................ 1995 .............................. 1996 .............................. 19971 ............................ 19981 ............................ 524 514 509 512 517 514 512 509 511 523 341 335 331 321 318 315 312 309 311 319 268 261 254 247 241 243 247 249 256 268 363 356 348 337 335 329 327 324 326 339 562 559 558 556 554 550 546 540 548 572 518 507 496 490 492 483 482 481 489 502 621 607 595 584 583 591 588 580 587 597 620 609 606 607 611 623 622 617 616 620 566 570 561 561 555 551 550 555 567 592 439 428 456 439 443 423 416 399 399 405 1979 .............................. 1980 .............................. 1981 .............................. 1982 .............................. 1983 .............................. 1984 .............................. 1985 .............................. 19861 ............................ 1987 .............................. 1988 .............................. 401 398 396 407 412 416 420 433 435 434 339 331 326 327 324 319 319 325 325 324 290 287 279 269 259 254 251 253 247 254 355 346 346 343 339 335 335 344 347 346 429 421 421 434 438 444 449 459 461 461 438 432 432 439 444 447 448 455 454 450 431 425 430 440 445 458 465 475 483 487 423 413 407 429 432 438 442 459 465 467 416 405 402 417 421 424 431 440 442 437 375 346 342 360 347 343 367 381 374 385 1989 .............................. 19901 ............................ 1991 .............................. 1992 .............................. 1993 .............................. 19941 ............................ 1995 .............................. 1996 .............................. 19971 ............................ 19981 ............................ 431 432 438 441 444 439 434 434 438 456 323 316 318 310 308 303 294 295 297 305 259 247 245 238 231 233 230 232 244 249 342 335 335 325 326 319 311 310 311 319 461 460 463 464 468 464 458 461 469 485 447 444 443 444 445 437 431 431 434 451 486 487 487 486 491 493 485 481 489 498 469 470 476 484 496 495 496 499 502 516 437 434 434 436 445 438 431 437 439 476 384 374 382 381 377 370 377 347 353 350 Year and sex BOTH SEXES WOMEN See footnotes at end of table. 20 Table 13. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers in constant (1998) dollars by sex and age, 1979-98 annual averages–Continued Year and sex Total, 16 years and over 16 to 24 years Total 16 to 19 years 25 years and over 20 to 24 years Total 25 to 34 years 35 to 44 years 45 to 54 years 55 to 64 years 65 years and over MEN 1979 .............................. 1980 .............................. 1981 .............................. 1982 .............................. 1983 .............................. 1984 .............................. 1985 .............................. 19861 ............................ 1987 .............................. 1988 .............................. 642 620 614 621 620 615 616 624 622 619 432 413 395 383 365 363 365 366 369 360 341 321 304 290 275 274 277 276 281 282 465 443 429 416 395 393 392 393 394 384 692 672 672 670 666 663 671 688 685 671 651 623 614 609 607 600 597 598 591 580 739 727 718 719 724 740 738 742 732 712 744 726 717 713 726 737 741 753 746 756 688 682 682 679 682 690 708 721 711 700 483 453 482 511 504 514 557 533 545 544 1989 .............................. 19901 ............................ 1991 .............................. 1992 .............................. 1993 .............................. 19941 ............................ 1995 .............................. 1996 .............................. 19971 ............................ 19981 ............................ 615 600 590 582 575 574 575 579 587 598 357 351 341 329 325 324 324 319 322 334 275 271 262 253 249 251 261 260 266 281 381 372 359 345 341 337 337 334 343 357 657 639 626 622 626 634 629 622 624 639 570 560 548 542 536 527 524 518 523 544 713 699 689 675 672 679 667 657 661 677 747 737 733 736 737 738 732 725 724 732 684 680 674 672 661 663 666 667 679 699 517 502 558 489 509 485 472 496 459 482 1979 .............................. 1980 .............................. 1981 .............................. 1982 .............................. 1983 .............................. 1984 .............................. 1985 .............................. 19861 ............................ 1987 .............................. 1988 .............................. 62.5 64.3 64.5 65.5 66.6 67.6 68.2 69.3 69.9 70.1 78.5 80.1 82.6 85.3 88.6 87.9 87.5 88.9 88.1 90.0 85.2 89.5 91.8 92.8 94.1 92.7 90.8 91.5 87.8 89.8 76.5 78.0 80.7 82.5 85.9 85.3 85.5 87.7 88.0 90.1 62.1 62.7 62.7 64.7 65.8 67.0 66.9 66.7 67.3 68.7 67.4 69.4 70.4 72.1 73.3 74.5 75.1 76.2 76.8 77.7 58.3 58.4 59.9 61.2 61.5 61.9 63.1 64.0 66.1 68.4 56.9 56.9 56.8 60.1 59.5 59.4 59.7 61.0 62.3 61.8 60.5 59.4 58.9 61.3 61.8 61.4 60.9 61.0 62.2 62.4 77.8 76.5 70.9 70.4 68.7 66.8 66.0 71.4 68.7 70.8 1989 .............................. 19901 ............................ 1991 .............................. 1992 .............................. 1993 .............................. 19941 ............................ 1995 .............................. 1996 .............................. 19971 ............................ 19981 ............................ 70.1 71.9 74.3 75.8 77.1 76.4 75.4 75.0 74.5 76.3 90.7 90.1 93.3 94.0 94.8 93.7 90.8 92.4 92.1 91.3 94.0 91.0 93.5 93.8 93.0 92.7 87.9 88.9 91.4 88.5 89.8 90.2 93.5 94.2 95.6 94.5 92.2 92.8 90.6 89.4 70.2 72.1 74.0 74.6 74.7 73.1 72.7 74.1 75.1 75.9 78.4 79.2 80.9 82.0 82.9 82.9 82.4 83.2 82.9 83.0 68.1 69.7 70.8 71.9 73.0 72.5 72.7 73.2 74.0 73.5 62.7 63.8 64.9 65.8 67.3 67.1 67.8 68.9 69.4 70.5 63.9 63.7 64.4 64.9 67.4 66.1 64.8 65.4 64.7 68.2 74.2 74.5 68.4 78.1 74.1 76.3 79.9 70.0 77.1 72.6 WOMEN’S EARNINGS AS PERCENT OF MEN’S2 1 The comparability of historical labor force data has been affected at various times by methodological and conceptual changes in the Current Population Survey (CPS). For an explanation, see the Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error section of the February 1994 and subsequent issues of Employment and Earnings, a monthly BLS periodical. 2 These figures are computed using unrounded medians and may differ slightly from percents computed using the rounded medians displayed in this table. NOTE: The Experimental Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U, X-1) is used to convert current dollars to constant dollars for the years 1979-82; the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is used for the years 1983-98. See Technical Note. 21 Table 14. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers in constant (1998) dollars by sex, race, and Hispanic origin, 1979-98 annual averages Year and sex Total, 16 years and over Race and Hispanic origin White Black Hispanic origin BOTH SEXES 1979 ...................................................................... 1980 ...................................................................... 1981 ...................................................................... 1982 ...................................................................... 1983 ...................................................................... 1984 ...................................................................... 1985 ...................................................................... 19861 .................................................................... 1987 ...................................................................... 1988 ...................................................................... $531 519 513 515 513 512 521 534 537 531 $545 532 525 528 524 528 539 551 551 544 $438 421 425 418 428 422 420 433 432 433 $426 414 403 409 409 407 409 412 409 400 1989 ...................................................................... 19901 .................................................................... 1991 ...................................................................... 1992 ...................................................................... 1993 ...................................................................... 19941 .................................................................... 1995 ...................................................................... 1996 ...................................................................... 19971 .................................................................... 19981 .................................................................... 524 514 509 512 517 514 512 509 511 523 538 528 529 532 536 532 529 525 527 545 420 411 416 414 416 409 409 402 406 426 392 379 374 373 373 357 351 352 357 370 1979 ...................................................................... 1980 ...................................................................... 1981 ...................................................................... 1982 ...................................................................... 1983 ...................................................................... 1984 ...................................................................... 1985 ...................................................................... 19861 .................................................................... 1987 ...................................................................... 1988 ...................................................................... 401 398 396 407 412 416 420 433 435 434 405 402 399 412 417 421 426 438 441 439 372 367 372 370 379 378 382 392 396 397 346 341 344 347 351 350 348 359 360 359 1989 ...................................................................... 19901 .................................................................... 1991 ...................................................................... 1992 ...................................................................... 1993 ...................................................................... 19941 .................................................................... 1995 ...................................................................... 1996 ...................................................................... 19971 .................................................................... 19981 .................................................................... 431 432 438 441 444 439 434 434 438 456 438 441 446 449 452 449 443 444 451 468 396 384 386 389 392 381 379 376 381 400 354 347 350 351 352 335 326 329 323 337 WOMEN See footnotes at end of table. 22 Table 14. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers in constant (1998) dollars by sex, race, and Hispanic origin, 1979-98 annual averages–Continued Year and sex Total, 16 years and over Race and Hispanic origin White Black Hispanic origin MEN 1979 ...................................................................... 1980 ...................................................................... 1981 ...................................................................... 1982 ...................................................................... 1983 ...................................................................... 1984 ...................................................................... 1985 ...................................................................... 19861 .................................................................... 1987 ...................................................................... 1988 ...................................................................... 642 620 614 621 620 615 616 624 622 619 657 633 632 640 634 629 633 645 646 641 501 484 485 474 481 475 462 474 469 479 483 464 455 457 449 450 448 445 439 424 1989 ...................................................................... 19901 .................................................................... 1991 ...................................................................... 1992 ...................................................................... 1993 ...................................................................... 19941 .................................................................... 1995 ...................................................................... 1996 ...................................................................... 19971 .................................................................... 19981 .................................................................... 615 600 590 582 575 574 575 579 587 598 633 616 605 597 591 602 606 602 604 615 457 450 448 442 442 440 439 427 438 468 413 396 386 394 390 377 374 369 377 390 1979 ...................................................................... 1980 ...................................................................... 1981 ...................................................................... 1982 ...................................................................... 1983 ...................................................................... 1984 ...................................................................... 1985 ...................................................................... 19861 .................................................................... 1987 ...................................................................... 1988 ...................................................................... 62.5 64.3 64.5 65.5 66.6 67.6 68.2 69.3 69.9 70.1 61.7 63.5 63.1 64.4 65.7 67.0 67.4 67.9 68.2 68.5 74.3 75.8 76.7 78.0 78.9 79.6 82.8 82.7 84.4 83.0 71.7 73.6 75.6 75.7 78.3 77.8 77.7 80.7 82.1 84.6 1989 ...................................................................... 19901 .................................................................... 1991 ...................................................................... 1992 ...................................................................... 1993 ...................................................................... 19941 .................................................................... 1995 ...................................................................... 1996 ...................................................................... 19971 .................................................................... 19981 .................................................................... 70.1 71.9 74.3 75.8 77.1 76.4 75.4 75.0 74.5 76.3 69.2 71.5 73.7 75.2 76.5 74.5 73.2 73.8 74.6 76.1 86.5 85.5 86.1 88.1 88.8 86.5 86.3 88.1 86.8 85.4 85.6 87.6 90.5 89.1 90.4 88.8 87.3 89.0 85.6 86.5 WOMEN’S EARNINGS AS PERCENT OF MEN’S2 1 The comparability of historical labor force data has been affected at various times by methodological and conceptual changes in the Current Population Survey (CPS). For an explanation, see the Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error section of the February 1994 and subsequent issues of Employment and Earnings, a monthly BLS periodical. 2 These figures are computed using unrounded medians and may differ slightly from percents computed using the rounded medians displayed in this table. NOTE: The Experimental Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U, X-1) is used to convert current dollars to constant dollars for the years 1979-82; the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is used for the years 1983-98. See Technical Note. 23 Table 15. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers 25 years and over in constant (1998) dollars by sex and educational attainment, 1979-98 annual averages Total, 25 years and over Less than a high school diploma High school graduates, no college 1979 ............................................................ 1980 ............................................................ 1981 ............................................................ 1982 ............................................................ 1983 ............................................................ 1984 ............................................................ 1985 ............................................................ 19861 .......................................................... 1987 ............................................................ 1988 ............................................................ $584 567 558 557 562 568 574 582 578 571 $462 440 433 422 419 413 409 414 407 397 $548 527 518 514 509 507 505 511 511 507 $621 601 586 598 594 600 604 609 603 593 $758 745 735 745 755 762 766 781 808 806 1989 ............................................................ 19901 .......................................................... 1991 ............................................................ 1992 ............................................................ 1993 ............................................................ 19941 .......................................................... 1995 ............................................................ 1996 ............................................................ 19971 .......................................................... 19981 .......................................................... 562 559 558 556 554 550 546 540 548 572 391 378 368 361 354 338 331 329 326 337 493 481 475 468 468 463 462 460 468 479 595 593 585 563 557 548 543 537 543 558 801 795 796 808 806 807 799 788 791 821 1979 ............................................................ 1980 ............................................................ 1981 ............................................................ 1982 ............................................................ 1983 ............................................................ 1984 ............................................................ 1985 ............................................................ 19861 .......................................................... 1987 ............................................................ 1988 ............................................................ 429 421 421 434 438 444 449 459 461 461 334 324 316 314 319 313 306 309 307 304 407 397 393 402 403 406 406 412 413 411 464 457 461 468 471 478 481 490 498 496 581 574 575 590 604 612 628 649 668 668 1989 ............................................................ 19901 .......................................................... 1991 ............................................................ 1992 ............................................................ 1993 ............................................................ 19941 .......................................................... 1995 ............................................................ 1996 ............................................................ 19971 .......................................................... 19981 .......................................................... 461 460 463 464 468 464 458 461 469 485 304 300 299 297 297 282 280 279 279 283 400 392 393 391 391 386 381 379 384 396 498 492 489 473 476 465 456 459 466 476 667 667 672 690 688 697 689 682 683 707 Year and sex Some college or College associate degree graduates, total BOTH SEXES WOMEN See footnotes at end of table. 24 Table 15. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers 25 years and over in constant (1998) dollars by sex and educational attainment, 1979-98 annual averages–Continued Year and sex Total, 25 years and over Less than a high school diploma High school graduates, no college Some college or College associate degree graduates, total MEN 1979 ............................................................ 1980 ............................................................ 1981 ............................................................ 1982 ............................................................ 1983 ............................................................ 1984 ............................................................ 1985 ............................................................ 19861 .......................................................... 1987 ............................................................ 1988 ............................................................ 692 672 672 670 666 663 671 688 685 671 555 530 517 500 493 484 476 477 465 458 679 648 644 637 635 626 617 619 607 601 725 709 703 701 691 700 715 722 713 693 872 846 860 857 849 882 894 919 937 936 1989 ............................................................ 19901 .......................................................... 1991 ............................................................ 1992 ............................................................ 1993 ............................................................ 19941 .......................................................... 1995 ............................................................ 1996 ............................................................ 19971 .......................................................... 19981 .......................................................... 657 639 626 622 626 634 629 622 624 639 455 436 418 408 402 377 371 370 371 383 592 572 562 556 549 546 542 536 543 559 679 676 673 644 645 645 638 627 631 643 927 924 914 919 908 909 904 907 910 939 1979 ............................................................ 1980 ............................................................ 1981 ............................................................ 1982 ............................................................ 1983 ............................................................ 1984 ............................................................ 1985 ............................................................ 19861 .......................................................... 1987 ............................................................ 1988 ............................................................ 62.1 62.7 62.7 64.7 65.8 67.0 66.9 66.7 67.3 68.7 60.2 61.3 61.1 62.8 64.6 64.8 64.4 64.7 66.1 66.4 60.0 61.3 61.0 63.1 63.5 64.9 65.7 66.6 68.0 68.3 64.0 64.5 65.6 66.7 68.1 68.4 67.2 67.9 69.9 71.5 66.6 67.8 66.9 68.9 71.1 69.5 70.2 70.6 71.3 71.4 1989 ............................................................ 19901 .......................................................... 1991 ............................................................ 1992 ............................................................ 1993 ............................................................ 19941 .......................................................... 1995 ............................................................ 1996 ............................................................ 19971 .......................................................... 19981 .......................................................... 70.2 72.1 74.0 74.6 74.7 73.1 72.7 74.1 75.1 75.9 66.8 68.8 71.5 72.8 73.8 74.9 75.4 75.2 75.2 73.7 67.6 68.6 69.9 70.3 71.3 70.8 70.2 70.7 70.8 70.9 73.3 72.8 72.6 73.4 73.7 72.0 71.6 73.1 73.8 74.0 71.9 72.2 73.5 75.0 75.8 76.7 76.2 75.2 75.0 75.3 WOMEN’S EARNINGS AS PERCENT OF MEN’S2 1 The comparability of historical labor force data has been affected at various times by methodological and conceptual changes in the Current Population Survey (CPS). For an explanation, see the Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error section of the February 1994 and subsequent issues of Employment and Earnings, a monthly BLS periodical. 2 These figures are computed using unrounded medians and may differ slightly from percents computed using the rounded medians displayed in this table. NOTE: The Experimental Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U, X-1) is used to convert current dollars to constant dollars for the years 1979-82; the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is used for the years 1983-98. See Technical Note. 25 Table 16. Median hourly earnings of wage and salary workers paid hourly rates in constant (1998) dollars by sex and age, 1979-98 annual averages 16 to 24 years 25 years and over Total, 16 years and over Total 16 to 19 years 20 to 24 years Total 25 to 34 years 35 to 44 years 45 to 54 years 55 to 64 years 65 years and over 1979 .............................. 1980 .............................. 1981 .............................. 1982 .............................. 1983 .............................. 1984 .............................. 1985 .............................. 19861 ............................ 1987 .............................. 1988 .............................. $9.80 9.57 9.33 9.22 9.17 9.17 9.15 9.25 9.29 9.28 $7.70 7.37 7.20 6.91 6.69 6.58 6.47 6.58 6.60 6.61 $6.86 6.40 6.49 6.16 5.92 5.75 5.58 5.53 5.48 5.56 $8.88 8.51 8.35 7.96 7.69 7.58 7.50 7.55 7.49 7.42 $11.28 11.01 10.85 10.72 10.73 10.75 10.70 10.77 10.72 10.68 $11.48 11.22 11.03 10.83 10.65 10.64 10.50 10.45 10.33 10.25 $11.68 11.42 11.23 11.28 11.32 11.28 11.37 11.60 11.40 11.27 $11.39 11.21 10.89 10.95 11.03 11.13 11.19 11.52 11.30 11.25 $10.96 10.70 10.52 10.43 10.50 10.41 10.48 10.68 10.65 10.32 $7.13 7.08 7.10 7.04 7.21 7.28 7.19 7.40 7.30 7.22 1989 .............................. 19901 ............................ 1991 .............................. 1992 .............................. 1993 .............................. 19941 ............................ 1995 .............................. 1996 .............................. 19971 ............................ 19981 ............................ 9.20 9.03 8.99 8.98 8.88 8.83 8.75 8.73 8.90 9.11 6.52 6.44 6.31 6.25 6.22 6.19 6.21 6.17 6.25 6.59 5.56 5.61 5.62 5.50 5.42 5.41 5.40 5.38 5.60 5.89 7.44 7.39 7.19 7.02 6.95 6.86 6.88 6.96 7.02 7.25 10.45 10.19 10.16 10.15 10.10 10.05 10.02 10.00 10.03 10.14 10.05 9.87 9.63 9.50 9.34 9.23 9.33 9.17 9.19 9.66 11.26 11.01 10.98 10.91 10.85 10.93 10.73 10.54 10.53 10.87 11.08 10.98 10.91 11.06 11.13 11.03 10.85 10.64 10.77 10.97 10.29 10.01 9.80 9.87 10.05 9.94 9.85 9.76 9.89 10.09 7.13 7.19 7.11 7.14 7.22 7.04 7.12 7.04 7.01 7.41 1979 .............................. 1980 .............................. 1981 .............................. 1982 .............................. 1983 .............................. 1984 .............................. 1985 .............................. 19861 ............................ 1987 .............................. 1988 .............................. 7.98 7.85 7.75 7.86 7.88 7.81 7.79 7.95 8.04 8.06 7.04 6.85 6.72 6.46 6.26 6.18 6.09 6.13 6.07 6.18 6.69 6.24 6.38 6.07 5.83 5.65 5.48 5.44 5.33 5.40 7.76 7.53 7.42 7.16 6.98 6.86 6.93 7.03 7.03 6.97 8.60 8.42 8.50 8.58 8.58 8.62 8.70 8.86 8.86 8.88 8.92 8.82 8.86 8.87 8.92 8.81 8.78 8.87 8.83 8.78 8.76 8.51 8.65 8.67 8.70 8.82 8.97 9.14 9.13 9.32 8.48 8.39 8.32 8.45 8.51 8.67 8.74 8.93 9.02 9.08 8.29 8.10 8.02 8.20 8.31 8.29 8.28 8.57 8.66 8.39 6.90 6.72 6.73 6.71 6.83 6.88 6.73 7.06 6.97 7.06 1989 .............................. 19901 ............................ 1991 .............................. 1992 .............................. 1993 .............................. 19941 ............................ 1995 .............................. 1996 .............................. 19971 ............................ 19981 ............................ 8.04 8.04 8.09 8.09 8.04 7.99 7.98 8.04 8.07 8.24 6.18 6.18 6.09 6.01 5.95 5.87 5.88 5.91 6.05 6.25 5.40 5.44 5.56 5.45 5.34 5.33 5.29 5.30 5.51 5.79 6.88 6.96 6.84 6.72 6.73 6.59 6.53 6.51 6.66 6.94 8.92 8.83 8.80 8.90 8.88 8.86 8.75 8.77 8.90 9.14 8.80 8.75 8.61 8.66 8.60 8.57 8.48 8.38 8.33 8.81 9.34 9.20 9.26 9.29 9.21 9.29 9.24 9.24 9.29 9.67 9.09 8.94 9.11 9.23 9.23 9.31 9.34 9.29 9.42 9.79 8.39 8.40 8.33 8.38 8.53 8.61 8.50 8.39 8.44 8.86 6.77 6.80 6.90 6.94 6.98 6.87 6.91 6.71 6.94 7.22 Year and sex BOTH SEXES WOMEN See footnotes at end of table. 26 Table 16. Median hourly earnings of wage and salary workers paid hourly rates in constant (1998) dollars by sex and age, 1979-98 annual averages–Continued Year and sex Total, 16 years and over 16 to 24 years Total 25 years and over 16 to 19 years 20 to 24 years Total 25 to 34 years 35 to 44 years 45 to 54 years 55 to 64 years 65 years and over MEN 1979 .............................. 1980 .............................. 1981 .............................. 1982 .............................. 1983 .............................. 1984 .............................. 1985 .............................. 19861 ............................ 1987 .............................. 1988 .............................. 12.47 12.09 11.89 11.69 11.34 11.20 11.13 11.31 11.17 10.91 8.62 8.14 7.82 7.47 7.19 7.19 7.11 7.15 7.05 6.94 7.05 6.70 6.60 6.25 6.02 5.85 5.70 5.70 5.69 5.72 10.24 9.76 9.26 8.75 8.28 8.12 7.95 8.09 8.16 7.99 14.76 14.31 14.09 13.78 13.62 13.52 13.42 13.43 13.16 12.93 14.07 13.73 13.28 13.08 12.69 12.39 12.13 11.97 11.86 11.59 15.71 15.48 15.02 15.16 15.10 14.94 14.87 14.89 14.50 14.09 15.66 15.43 15.38 15.15 15.01 15.23 15.13 15.11 14.70 14.74 14.53 14.35 14.27 13.89 14.32 13.93 13.72 14.21 13.95 13.43 7.87 7.53 7.64 7.62 7.79 7.72 7.57 7.73 7.65 7.62 1989 .............................. 19901 ............................ 1991 .............................. 1992 .............................. 1993 .............................. 19941 ............................ 1995 .............................. 1996 .............................. 19971 ............................ 19981 ............................ 10.65 10.32 10.29 10.08 10.00 9.91 9.88 9.90 9.99 10.07 6.81 6.79 6.68 6.57 6.49 6.47 6.47 6.42 6.55 6.92 5.78 5.80 5.68 5.58 5.50 5.49 5.51 5.47 5.71 5.99 7.92 7.72 7.47 7.26 7.15 7.23 7.30 7.27 7.30 7.79 12.77 12.29 11.94 11.69 11.49 11.33 11.48 11.20 11.28 11.73 11.27 11.03 10.71 10.49 10.27 10.03 10.13 10.08 10.08 10.23 13.93 13.39 13.15 12.71 12.60 12.66 12.72 12.37 12.27 12.49 14.31 13.89 14.02 13.97 13.71 13.32 13.18 12.89 13.00 13.05 13.15 12.70 12.07 12.07 12.37 12.17 11.89 11.59 11.98 12.23 7.76 7.60 7.45 7.51 7.57 7.31 7.34 7.32 7.08 7.75 1979 .............................. 1980 .............................. 1981 .............................. 1982 .............................. 1983 .............................. 1984 .............................. 1985 .............................. 19861 ............................ 1987 .............................. 1988 .............................. 64.0 64.9 65.2 67.3 69.5 69.8 70.1 70.3 72.0 73.9 81.7 84.1 86.0 86.5 87.1 86.0 85.7 85.8 86.0 89.1 94.9 93.1 96.6 97.1 96.9 96.6 96.1 95.5 93.7 94.4 75.8 77.2 80.2 81.8 84.4 84.5 87.2 86.9 86.2 87.3 58.3 58.8 60.3 62.2 63.0 63.8 64.8 66.0 67.3 68.7 63.4 64.2 66.7 67.8 70.3 71.1 72.4 74.1 74.4 75.7 55.8 54.9 57.6 57.2 57.6 59.0 60.3 61.4 62.9 66.2 54.1 54.4 54.1 55.8 56.7 56.9 57.8 59.1 61.4 61.6 57.0 56.4 56.2 59.0 58.0 59.5 60.4 60.3 62.1 62.5 87.7 89.3 88.1 88.1 87.6 89.1 88.9 91.3 91.2 92.6 1989 .............................. 19901 ............................ 1991 .............................. 1992 .............................. 1993 .............................. 19941 ............................ 1995 .............................. 1996 .............................. 19971 ............................ 19981 ............................ 75.5 77.9 78.6 80.2 80.4 80.6 80.8 81.2 80.8 81.8 90.8 91.0 91.2 91.4 91.6 90.6 90.9 92.0 92.3 90.3 93.4 93.8 97.8 97.7 97.2 97.0 96.0 96.9 96.6 96.7 86.9 90.2 91.6 92.5 94.1 91.1 89.4 89.5 91.3 89.1 69.9 71.9 73.6 76.1 77.3 78.2 76.2 78.3 78.9 77.9 78.1 79.4 80.4 82.6 83.7 85.5 83.7 83.1 82.7 86.1 67.0 68.7 70.4 73.1 73.1 73.4 72.6 74.7 75.8 77.4 63.5 64.3 65.0 66.0 67.3 69.9 70.9 72.1 72.4 75.0 63.8 66.2 69.0 69.4 69.0 70.7 71.4 72.4 70.5 72.4 87.2 89.6 92.6 92.5 92.2 94.0 94.1 91.7 98.1 93.1 WOMEN’S EARNINGS AS PERCENT OF MEN’S2 1 The comparability of historical labor force data has been affected at various times by methodological and conceptual changes in the Current Population Survey (CPS). For an explanation, see the Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error section of the February 1994 and subsequent issues of Employment and Earnings, a monthly BLS periodical. 2 These figures are computed using unrounded medians and may differ slightly from percents computed using the rounded medians displayed in this table. NOTE: The Experimental Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U, X-1) is used to convert current dollars to constant dollars for the years 1979-82; the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is used for the years 1983-98. See Technical Note. 27 Table 17. Median hourly earnings of wage and salary workers paid hourly rates in constant (1998) dollars by sex, race, and Hispanic origin, 1979-98 annual averages Year and sex Total, 16 years and over Race and Hispanic origin White Black Hispanic origin BOTH SEXES 1979 ...................................................................... 1980 ...................................................................... 1981 ...................................................................... 1982 ...................................................................... 1983 ...................................................................... 1984 ...................................................................... 1985 ...................................................................... 19861 .................................................................... 1987 ...................................................................... 1988 ...................................................................... $9.80 9.57 9.33 9.22 9.17 9.17 9.15 9.25 9.29 9.28 $9.95 9.68 9.39 9.33 9.29 9.28 9.26 9.36 9.43 9.39 $9.07 8.82 8.89 8.64 8.44 8.44 8.35 8.65 8.61 8.49 $9.00 8.81 8.71 8.55 8.35 8.29 8.30 8.43 8.37 8.21 1989 ...................................................................... 19901 .................................................................... 1991 ...................................................................... 1992 ...................................................................... 1993 ...................................................................... 19941 .................................................................... 1995 ...................................................................... 1996 ...................................................................... 19971 .................................................................... 19981 .................................................................... 9.20 9.03 8.99 8.98 8.88 8.83 8.75 8.73 8.90 9.11 9.32 9.16 9.11 9.09 9.00 8.93 8.91 8.91 9.03 9.23 8.46 8.50 8.38 8.21 8.10 8.03 8.21 8.07 8.14 8.40 7.99 7.84 7.74 7.73 7.71 7.63 7.50 7.45 7.52 7.93 1979 ...................................................................... 1980 ...................................................................... 1981 ...................................................................... 1982 ...................................................................... 1983 ...................................................................... 1984 ...................................................................... 1985 ...................................................................... 19861 .................................................................... 1987 ...................................................................... 1988 ...................................................................... 7.98 7.85 7.75 7.86 7.88 7.81 7.79 7.95 8.04 8.06 8.00 7.86 7.76 7.88 7.88 7.83 7.80 7.98 8.07 8.09 7.83 7.70 7.60 7.67 7.74 7.67 7.65 7.71 7.77 7.75 7.59 7.50 7.43 7.40 7.25 7.32 7.32 7.45 7.34 7.29 1989 ...................................................................... 19901 .................................................................... 1991 ...................................................................... 1992 ...................................................................... 1993 ...................................................................... 19941 .................................................................... 1995 ...................................................................... 1996 ...................................................................... 19971 .................................................................... 19981 .................................................................... 8.04 8.04 8.09 8.09 8.04 7.99 7.98 8.04 8.07 8.24 8.07 8.07 8.10 8.13 8.08 8.08 8.08 8.10 8.13 8.34 7.74 7.78 7.85 7.72 7.76 7.64 7.62 7.48 7.71 7.91 7.28 7.25 7.17 7.18 7.13 7.06 7.07 7.04 6.93 7.23 WOMEN See footnotes at end of table. 28 Table 17. Median hourly earnings of wage and salary workers paid hourly rates in constant (1998) dollars by sex, race, and Hispanic origin, 1979-98 annual averages–Continued Year and sex Total, 16 years and over Race and Hispanic origin White Black Hispanic origin MEN 1979 ...................................................................... 1980 ...................................................................... 1981 ...................................................................... 1982 ...................................................................... 1983 ...................................................................... 1984 ...................................................................... 1985 ...................................................................... 19861 .................................................................... 1987 ...................................................................... 1988 ...................................................................... 12.47 12.09 11.89 11.69 11.34 11.20 11.13 11.31 11.17 10.91 12.78 12.35 12.15 11.91 11.58 11.41 11.51 11.60 11.39 11.11 10.78 10.27 10.52 10.19 9.76 9.68 9.33 9.79 9.68 9.57 10.58 9.97 9.73 9.78 9.53 9.49 9.21 9.23 9.15 8.98 1989 ...................................................................... 19901 .................................................................... 1991 ...................................................................... 1992 ...................................................................... 1993 ...................................................................... 19941 .................................................................... 1995 ...................................................................... 1996 ...................................................................... 19971 .................................................................... 19981 .................................................................... 10.65 10.32 10.29 10.08 10.00 9.91 9.88 9.90 9.99 10.07 10.90 10.67 10.56 10.34 10.24 10.14 10.30 10.17 10.12 10.19 9.31 9.20 9.07 8.86 8.66 8.72 8.74 8.50 8.81 9.10 8.76 8.42 8.24 8.13 8.04 7.90 7.78 7.92 8.03 8.25 1979 ...................................................................... 1980 ...................................................................... 1981 ...................................................................... 1982 ...................................................................... 1983 ...................................................................... 1984 ...................................................................... 1985 ...................................................................... 19861 .................................................................... 1987 ...................................................................... 1988 ...................................................................... 64.0 64.9 65.2 67.3 69.5 69.8 70.1 70.3 72.0 73.9 62.6 63.6 63.9 66.1 68.1 68.6 67.8 68.8 70.8 72.8 72.6 75.0 72.2 75.3 79.3 79.2 82.0 78.8 80.2 80.9 71.8 75.2 76.4 75.7 76.1 77.1 79.5 80.8 80.3 81.2 1989 ...................................................................... 19901 .................................................................... 1991 ...................................................................... 1992 ...................................................................... 1993 ...................................................................... 19941 .................................................................... 1995 ...................................................................... 1996 ...................................................................... 19971 .................................................................... 19981 .................................................................... 75.5 77.9 78.6 80.2 80.4 80.6 80.8 81.2 80.8 81.8 74.1 75.6 76.7 78.7 78.9 79.7 78.4 79.6 80.3 81.9 83.2 84.5 86.6 87.2 89.6 87.5 87.3 88.0 87.5 86.9 83.1 86.1 86.9 88.4 88.7 89.3 90.9 88.9 86.3 87.5 WOMEN’S EARNINGS AS PERCENT OF MEN’S2 1 The comparability of historical labor force data has been affected at various times by methodological and conceptual changes in the Current Population Survey (CPS). For an explanation, see the Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error section of the February 1994 and subsequent issues of Employment and Earnings, a monthly BLS periodical. 2 These figures are computed using unrounded medians and may differ slightly from percents computed using the rounded medians displayed in this table. NOTE: The Experimental Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U, X-1) is used to convert current dollars to constant dollars for the years 1979-82; the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is used for the years 1983-98. See Technical Note. 29 Table 18. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by sex, 1979-98 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Workers paid hourly rates Year and sex Total wage and salary workers Total Percent of total wage and salary workers Paid less than the prevailing Federal minimum wage Paid the prevailing Federal minimum wage 2,916 3,087 3,513 2,348 2,077 1,838 1,639 1,599 1,468 1,319 3,997 4,686 4,311 4,148 4,261 4,125 3,899 3,461 3,229 2,608 Total paid the prevailing Federal minimum wage or less Number Percent of hourlypaid workers BOTH SEXES 1979 .............................. 1980 .............................. 1981 .............................. 1982 .............................. 1983 .............................. 1984 .............................. 1985 .............................. 19861 ............................ 1987 .............................. 1988 .............................. 87,529 87,644 88,516 87,368 88,290 92,194 94,521 96,903 99,303 101,407 51,721 51,335 51,869 50,846 51,820 54,143 55,762 57,529 59,552 60,878 59.1 58.6 58.6 58.2 58.7 58.7 59.0 59.4 60.0 60.0 1989 .............................. 19901 ............................ 1991 .............................. 1992 .............................. 1993 .............................. 19941 ............................ 1995 .............................. 1996 .............................. 19971 ............................ 19981 ............................ 103,480 104,876 103,723 104,668 106,101 107,989 110,038 111,960 114,533 116,730 62,389 63,172 62,627 63,610 64,274 66,549 68,354 69,255 70,735 71,440 60.3 60.2 60.4 60.8 60.6 61.6 62.1 61.9 61.8 61.2 1979 .............................. 1980 .............................. 1981 .............................. 1982 .............................. 1983 .............................. 1984 .............................. 1985 .............................. 19861 ............................ 1987 .............................. 1988 .............................. 38,129 38,944 39,672 39,777 40,433 42,172 43,506 44,961 46,365 47,495 23,329 23,626 24,294 24,365 24,989 26,003 26,869 27,863 29,078 29,820 61.2 60.7 61.2 61.3 61.8 61.7 61.8 62.0 62.7 62.8 1989 .............................. 19901 ............................ 1991 .............................. 1992 .............................. 1993 .............................. 19941 ............................ 1995 .............................. 1996 .............................. 19971 ............................ 19981 ............................ 48,691 49,323 49,105 49,842 50,626 51,419 52,369 53,488 54,708 55,757 30,702 31,069 30,988 31,454 31,937 33,021 33,934 34,418 35,214 35,680 63.1 63.0 63.1 63.1 63.1 64.2 64.8 64.3 64.4 64.0 1,372 1,790 6,912 7,773 7,824 6,496 6,338 5,963 5,538 5,060 4,698 3,927 3,162 13.4 15.1 15.1 12.8 12.2 11.0 9.9 8.8 7.9 6.5 5.1 22,132 22,377 21,096 22,906 23,228 25,283 25.1 28.4 1,939 1,707 1,995 1,699 21,863 22,990 2,834 2,982 2,625 2,132 1,956 21,861 21,764 1,593 4,921 4,332 4,128 3,656 23,724 24,754 4,427 7.7 6.7 6.2 5.3 25.4 26.7 6.2 2,070 2,104 2,394 1,651 1,492 1,348 1,198 1,192 1,105 1,008 2,644 2,990 2,778 2,561 2,603 2,499 2,356 2,125 1,946 1,542 4,714 5,095 5,172 4,212 4,095 3,847 3,554 3,317 3,051 2,550 20.2 21.6 21.3 17.3 16.4 14.8 13.2 11.9 10.5 8.6 WOMEN 994 See footnotes at end of table. 30 1,056 2,050 6.7 21,420 21,582 2711 21,792 22,131 23,374 26.9 210.9 1,286 1,133 1,322 1,157 21,244 21,843 1,794 1,751 1,534 1,241 1,161 21,106 21,092 965 3,036 2,667 2,563 2,318 22,350 22,935 2,760 9.7 8.4 7.8 6.8 26.8 28.3 7.7 Table 18. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing Federal minimum wage by sex, 1979-98 annual averages–Continued (Numbers in thousands) Workers paid hourly rates Year and sex Total wage and salary workers Total Percent of total wage and salary workers Paid less than the prevailing Federal minimum wage Paid the prevailing Federal minimum wage 846 983 1,119 697 585 490 440 408 364 311 1,353 1,696 1,533 1,587 1,658 1,626 1,544 1,336 1,283 1,066 Total paid the prevailing Federal minimum wage or less Number Percent of hourlypaid workers MEN 1979 .............................. 1980 .............................. 1981 .............................. 1982 .............................. 1983 .............................. 1984 .............................. 1985 .............................. 19861 ............................ 1987 .............................. 1988 .............................. 49,400 48,700 48,844 47,591 47,856 50,022 51,015 51,942 52,938 53,912 28,392 27,709 27,576 26,481 26,831 28,140 28,893 29,666 30,474 31,058 57.5 56.9 56.5 55.6 56.1 56.3 56.6 57.1 57.6 57.6 1989 .............................. 19901 ............................ 1991 .............................. 1992 .............................. 1993 .............................. 19941 ............................ 1995 .............................. 1996 .............................. 19971 ............................ 19981 ............................ 54,789 55,553 54,618 54,826 55,475 56,570 57,669 58,473 59,825 60,973 31,687 32,104 31,639 32,155 32,337 33,528 34,420 34,838 35,521 35,761 57.8 57.8 57.9 58.6 58.3 59.3 59.7 59.6 59.4 58.7 379 1 The comparability of historical labor force data has been affected at various times by methodological and conceptual changes in the Current Population Survey (CPS). For an explanation, see the Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error section of the February 1994 and subsequent issues of Employment and Earnings, a monthly BLS periodical. 2 Data for 1990-91 and 1996-97 reflect changes in the minimum wage 733 2,199 2,678 2,652 2,284 2,243 2,116 1,984 1,743 1,647 1,377 1,112 7.7 9.7 9.6 8.6 8.4 7.5 6.9 5.9 5.4 4.4 3.5 2712 2795 2385 21,114 21,097 21,909 23.4 26.0 653 573 674 542 2619 21,147 1,039 1,231 1,091 891 796 2755 2673 628 1,885 1,664 1,565 1,338 21,374 21,820 1,667 5.9 5.1 4.7 3.9 23.9 25.1 4.7 that took place in those years. NOTE: The prevailing Federal minimum wage was $2.90 in 1979, $3.10 in 1980, and $3.35 in 1981-89. The minimum wage rose to $3.80 in April 1990, to $4.25 in April 1991, to $4.75 in October 1996, and to $5.15 in September 1997. See Technical Note. 31 Technical Note The estimates in this report were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides a wide range of information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. The survey is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the Bureau of the Census from a scientifically selected national sample of about 50,000 households, with coverage in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The earnings data are collected from one-fourth of the CPS monthly sample. Material in this report is in the public domain and, with appropriate credit, may be used without permission. This information is available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 606-7828; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339. median is estimated through the linear interpolation of the interval in which the median lies. Over-the-year changes in the medians (and other quantile boundaries) for specific groups may not necessarily be consistent with the movements estimated for the overall quantile boundary. The most common reasons for this possible anomaly are: (1) There could be a change in the relative weights of the subgroups. For example, the medians of both 16- to 24-year-olds and those 25 years and over may rise but if the lower-earning 16-to-24 age group accounts for a greatly increased share of the total, the overall median could actually fall. (2) There could be a large change in the shape of the distribution of reported earnings, particularly near a quantile boundary. This could be caused by survey observations that are clustered at rounded values, for example, $250, $300, $400. An estimate lying in a $50-wide centered interval containing such a cluster or “spike” tends to change more slowly than one in other intervals. Medians, for example, measure the central tendency of a multipeaked distribution that shifts over time. As the distribution shifts, the median does not necessarily move at the same rate. Specifically, the median takes relatively more time to move through a frequently reported interval, but once above the upper limit of such an interval, it can move relatively quickly to the next frequently reported earnings interval. BLS procedures for estimating medians (and other quantile boundaries) mitigate such irregular movements of the measures; however, users should be cautious of these effects when evaluating short-term changes in the medians as well as in ratios of the medians. Concepts and definitions The principal concepts and definitions used in connection with the earnings data in this report are described below. Usual weekly earnings. Data are collected on wages and salaries before taxes and other deductions and include any overtime pay, commissions, or tips usually received (at the principal job in the case of multiple jobholders). Self-employed workers are excluded, regardless of whether their businesses are incorporated. Prior to 1994, respondents were asked how much they usually earned per week. Since January 1994, respondents have been asked to identify the easiest way for them to report earnings (hourly, weekly, biweekly, twice monthly, monthly, annually, other) and how much they usually earn in the reported time period. Earnings reported on a basis other than weekly are converted to a weekly equivalent. The term “usual” is as perceived by the respondent. If the respondent asks for a definition of usual, interviewers are instructed to define the term as more than half the weeks worked during the past 4 or 5 months. Constant dollars. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is used to convert current dollars to constant dollars for the years 1983 forward. The Experimental Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U, X-1) is used to convert current dollars to constant dollars for the years 1979-82. The CPI-U, X-1 prior to 1983 is identical to the CPI-U, except for the treatment of homeownership costs. In January 1983, BLS implemented important methodological improvements to the homeownership components of the CPI-U. In keeping with BLS practice, historical CPI-U series were not revised. BLS, however, has provided the CPI-U, X-1 with homeownership methodology comparable to the revised CPI-U for researchers who needed a consistent CPI series. Medians (and quantiles) of weekly earnings. The median (or upper limit of the second quartile) is the amount which divides a given earnings distribution into two equal groups, one having earnings above the median and the other having earnings below the median. Ten percent of a given distribution have earnings below the upper limit of the first decile (90 percent have higher earnings); 25 percent have earnings below the upper limit of the first quartile (75 percent have higher earnings); 75 percent have earnings below the upper limit of the third quartile (25 percent have higher earnings); and 90 percent have earnings below the upper limit of the ninth decile (10 percent have higher earnings). The BLS estimating procedure for determining the median of an earnings distribution places each reported or calculated weekly earnings value into $50-wide intervals, centered around multiples of $50. The actual value of the Wage and salary workers. These are workers who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates. The group includes employees in both the private and public sectors but, for the purposes of the earnings series, excludes all self-employed persons, regardless of whether their businesses are incorporated. 32 Full-time workers. Workers who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job are defined as working full-time. The presence of workers with hourly earnings below the minimum wage does not necessarily indicate violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act, as there are exemptions to the minimum wage provisions of the law. In addition, some workers might have rounded hourly earnings to the nearest dollar in response to survey questions. As a result, some might have been reported with hourly earnings below the minimum wage when in fact they earned the minimum wage or higher. This may be more likely to occur in years when the minimum wage level is just above a whole dollar value, for example, in 1998 ($5.15). Part-time workers. Workers who usually work less than 35 hours per week at their sole or principal job are defined as working part-time. Hourly-paid workers. Workers who are paid an hourly wage are a subset of wage and salary workers, representing approximately three-fifths of all wage and salary workers. Hourly-paid workers are, therefore, included in the fulland part-time worker tables in this report along with salaried workers and other workers not paid by the hour. (Data for the hourly-paid workers are presented separately in tables 10 to 12 and 16 to 18). Reliability Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than an entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the “true” population values they represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the “true” population value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence. The standard errors included in this report were rounded for presentation purposes, as were the earnings estimates. Consequently, a precise confidence interval cannot be constructed using these data. The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data. For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on estimating standard errors, see the “Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error” section of the February 1994 and subsequent issues of Employment and Earnings. Workers paid at or below the Federal minimum wage. The estimates of the numbers of workers with reported earnings at or below the Federal minimum wage in tables 12 and 18 pertain only to workers who are paid hourly rates. Salaried workers and other nonhourly workers are not included even though some have earnings that, when converted to hourly rates, are at or below the minimum wage. Consequently, the estimates presented in this report likely understate the actual number of workers with hourly earnings at or below the minimum wage. Research has shown, however, that the degree of understatement is small. BLS does not routinely estimate hourly earnings for workers not paid by the hour because of data quality concerns associated with such an estimation process. The prevailing Federal minimum wage was: $2.90 effective January 1979 $3.10 effective January 1980 $3.35 effective January 1981 $3.80 effective April 1990 $4.25 effective April 1991 $4.75 effective October 1996 $5.15 effective September 1997 Data for 1990-91 and 1996-97 in table 18 reflect changes in the minimum wage that took place during those years. 33
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