Full text of First Quarter 1996 : Text File, 96-149
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Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, quarterly averages,
Table 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, first
Table 3. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by occupation and sex, quarterly averages, not
Table 4. Quartiles and selected deciles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected
Table 5. Median usual weekly earnings of part-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, quarterly averages,
Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 96-149
606-6373
For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact: 606-5902 Friday, April 19, 1996
USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS:
FIRST QUARTER 1996
Median weekly earnings of the nation's 88.7 million full-time wage and
salary workers were $489 in the first quarter of 1996, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 2.3
percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 2.7 percent in
the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) over the same
period.
Data on usual earnings are collected as part of the Current Population
Survey, a nationwide sample survey of households in which respondents are
asked, among other things, how much each wage and salary worker usually
earns. (See explanatory note.) Highlights from the first-quarter data
are:
---Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $419 a
week, or 75.2 percent of the $557 median for men. The female-male
earnings' ratios were much higher among blacks (89.2 percent) and Hispanics
(91.6 percent) than among whites (73.6 percent). (See
table 1.)
---Median earnings of black men working full-time were $417 per week,
71.9 percent of the median for white men ($580). The racial variation was
much less among women, as black women's median earnings ($372) were 87.1
percent of those for their white counterparts ($427). Overall, median
earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($330) were lower than those of
blacks ($394) and whites ($504). (See table 1.)
---The highest median weekly earnings for men were in the 45- to 54-year-
age group ($699), with the median for 35- to 44-year-old men next, at $629.
Among women, the highest-earning age group also was 45- to 54-year-olds,
who had a median of $477; this was followed closely by 35- to 44-year-olds,
with a median of $457. (See table 2.)
---Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in
managerial and professional specialty occupations had the highest median
weekly earnings--$846 for men and $612 for women--while men and women in
service and farm jobs earned the least. (See table 3.)
---Full-time workers age 25 and over with less than a high school
diploma had median weekly earnings of $311, compared with $435 for high
school graduates (no college) and $754 for college graduates. Among
college graduates with advanced degrees (master's degree and above), the
highest-earning 10 percent of men earned more than $1,924, compared with
more than $1,336 for their female counterparts. (See table 4.)
- 2 -
Explanatory Note
The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current
Population Survey (CPS), which provides the basic 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-quarter of the CPS monthly sample and are limited to
wages and salaries. The data, therefore, exclude self-employment income.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone:
202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577.
Reliability
In any sample survey, variations in the data can occur by chance
because a sample, rather than the whole of the population, is surveyed.
The standard error is a measure of such potential variation. The chances
are about 68 out of 100 that an estimate from the survey differs from a
figure that would be obtained from a complete census by less than one
standard error. The chances are about 90 out of 100 that such a difference
would be less than 1.6 standard errors. All statements of comparisons in
the text of this release are significant at 1.6 or more standard errors.
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.
Definitions
The principal definitions used in connection with the earnings series
are described briefly below.
Usual weekly earnings. Data represent earnings before taxes and other
deductions and include any overtime pay, taxes, commissions, or tips
usually received (at the main job in the case of multiple jobholders.)
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.
Medians (and other 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
- 3 -
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 estimating procedure places each reported or calculated weekly
earnings value into $50-wide intervals which are centered around multiples
of $50. The actual value is estimated through the linear interpolation of
the interval in which the quantile boundary 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 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, e.g., $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.
Wage and salary workers. 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 self-employed persons whose businesses are
incorporated.
Full-time workers. Workers who usually work 35 hours or more per week
at their sole or principal job.
Part-time workers. Workers who usually work fewer than 35 hours per
week at their sole or principal job.
Constant dollars. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers
(CPI-U) is used to convert current dollars to constant (1982) dollars.
Hispanic origin. Refers to persons who are of Mexican, Puerto Rican,
Cuban, Central or South American, or of other Hispanic origin or descent.
Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race; hence, they are included in
the numbers for the white and black populations.
Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, quarterly averages,
not seasonally adjusted
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Number of workers | Median weekly earnings
| (in thousands) |
| |
_____________________ ___________________________________________
| | | |
| | | In current dollars | In constant (1982)
Characteristic | | | | dollars
| I | I | |
_____________________ _____________________
| 1995 | 1996 | | | |
| | | I | I | I | I
| | | 1995 | 1996 | 1995 | 1996
| | | | | |
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
SEX AND AGE | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Total, 16 years and over..................................| 87,336 | 88,699 | $478 | $489 | $306 | $304
| | | | | |
Men, 16 years and over.................................| 50,070 | 50,388 | 535 | 557 | 342 | 347
16 to 24 years.......................................| 5,639 | 5,448 | 302 | 311 | 193 | 193
25 years and over....................................| 44,431 | 44,940 | 585 | 597 | 374 | 372
| | | | | |
Women, 16 years and over...............................| 37,266 | 38,312 | 406 | 419 | 260 | 261
16 to 24 years.......................................| 4,023 | 4,059 | 281 | 289 | 180 | 180
25 years and over....................................| 33,243 | 34,253 | 424 | 442 | 271 | 276
| | | | | |
RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX | | | | | |
| | | | | |
White..................................................| 73,299 | 74,423 | 494 | 504 | 316 | 314
Men..................................................| 42,744 | 43,177 | 565 | 580 | 361 | 361
Women................................................| 30,555 | 31,247 | 416 | 427 | 266 | 266
| | | | | |
Black..................................................| 10,369 | 10,534 | 373 | 394 | 239 | 245
Men..................................................| 5,226 | 5,199 | 401 | 417 | 256 | 260
Women................................................| 5,142 | 5,335 | 343 | 372 | 219 | 232
| | | | | |
Hispanic origin........................................| 8,305 | 8,599 | 330 | 330 | 211 | 205
Men..................................................| 5,339 | 5,495 | 349 | 344 | 223 | 214
Women................................................| 2,966 | 3,104 | 308 | 315 | 197 | 196
| | | | | |
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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. Publication
of data on family relationship has been temporarily
suspended due to editing and weighting problems associated
with the redesigned survey.
Table 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, first
quarter 1996 averages, not seasonally adjusted
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| | |
| Total | Men | Women
| | |
_____________________ _____________________ _____________________
| | | | | |
| Number | | Number | | Number |
Age, race, and Hispanic origin | of | Median | of | Median | of | Median
| workers | weekly | workers | weekly | workers | weekly
| (in | earnings | (in | earnings | (in | earnings
|thousands)| |thousands)| |thousands)|
| | | | | |
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
TOTAL | | | | | |
| | | | | |
16 years and over.........................................| 88,699 | $489 | 50,388 | $557 | 38,312 | $419
16 to 24 years..........................................| 9,507 | 301 | 5,448 | 311 | 4,059 | 289
16 to 19 years........................................| 1,453 | 248 | 916 | 262 | 537 | 222
20 to 24 years........................................| 8,054 | 311 | 4,531 | 321 | 3,522 | 299
25 years and over.......................................| 79,193 | 518 | 44,940 | 597 | 34,253 | 442
25 to 54 years........................................| 70,417 | 519 | 39,921 | 595 | 30,496 | 447
25 to 34 years......................................| 25,507 | 461 | 14,717 | 495 | 10,790 | 419
35 to 44 years......................................| 26,183 | 559 | 14,986 | 629 | 11,197 | 457
45 to 54 years......................................| 18,727 | 591 | 10,218 | 699 | 8,509 | 477
55 years and over.....................................| 8,776 | 511 | 5,019 | 618 | 3,757 | 408
55 to 64 years......................................| 7,732 | 523 | 4,395 | 625 | 3,336 | 417
65 years and over...................................| 1,044 | 394 | 624 | 520 | 420 | 326
| | | | | |
White | | | | | |
| | | | | |
16 years and over.........................................| 74,423 | 504 | 43,177 | 580 | 31,247 | 427
16 to 24 years..........................................| 8,012 | 303 | 4,642 | 312 | 3,370 | 290
25 years and over.......................................| 66,411 | 540 | 38,535 | 614 | 27,877 | 453
25 to 54 years........................................| 58,807 | 541 | 34,156 | 611 | 24,651 | 457
55 years and over.....................................| 7,604 | 529 | 4,379 | 649 | 3,226 | 418
| | | | | |
Black | | | | | |
| | | | | |
16 years and over.........................................| 10,534 | 394 | 5,199 | 417 | 5,335 | 372
16 to 24 years..........................................| 1,105 | 282 | 582 | 286 | 523 | 279
25 years and over.......................................| 9,430 | 415 | 4,617 | 447 | 4,813 | 390
25 to 54 years........................................| 8,591 | 416 | 4,196 | 446 | 4,395 | 393
55 years and over.....................................| 839 | 405 | 421 | 461 | 418 | 358
| | | | | |
Hispanic origin | | | | | |
| | | | | |
16 years and over.........................................| 8,599 | 330 | 5,495 | 344 | 3,104 | 315
16 to 24 years..........................................| 1,344 | 269 | 898 | 266 | 446 | 276
25 years and over.......................................| 7,256 | 359 | 4,598 | 379 | 2,658 | 326
25 to 54 years........................................| 6,615 | 358 | 4,212 | 379 | 2,403 | 323
55 years and over.....................................| 641 | 361 | 386 | 380 | 255 | 349
| | | | | |
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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.
Table 3. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by occupation and sex, quarterly averages, not
seasonally adjusted
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Number of workers | Median weekly earnings
| (in thousands) |
Occupation and sex | |
_____________________________ _____________________________
| | | |
| I | I | I | I
| 1995 | 1996 | 1995 | 1996
| | | |
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| | | |
| | | |
TOTAL | | | |
| | | |
Managerial and professional specialty.........................| 25,748 | 27,002 | $694 | $713
Executive, administrative, and managerial...................| 12,723 | 12,884 | 673 | 696
Professional specialty......................................| 13,025 | 14,118 | 712 | 724
Technical, sales, and administrative support..................| 25,501 | 25,453 | 425 | 438
Technicians and related support.............................| 3,079 | 3,045 | 550 | 576
Sales occupations...........................................| 8,651 | 8,917 | 459 | 481
Administrative support, including clerical..................| 13,771 | 13,491 | 399 | 399
Service occupations...........................................| 9,347 | 9,247 | 296 | 302
Private household...........................................| 375 | 371 | 204 | 198
Protective service..........................................| 1,897 | 1,865 | 511 | 522
Service, except private household and protective............| 7,076 | 7,010 | 276 | 282
Precision production, craft, and repair.......................| 10,862 | 10,862 | 524 | 546
Mechanics and repairers.....................................| 3,711 | 3,881 | 535 | 573
Construction trades.........................................| 3,435 | 3,390 | 514 | 523
Other precision production, craft, and repair...............| 3,716 | 3,591 | 529 | 531
Operators, fabricators, and laborers..........................| 14,650 | 14,879 | 378 | 381
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors...............| 7,008 | 7,151 | 363 | 374
Transportation and material moving occupations..............| 4,077 | 4,225 | 478 | 455
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.........| 3,564 | 3,502 | 317 | 320
Farming, forestry, and fishing................................| 1,228 | 1,257 | 286 | 297
| | | |
Men | | | |
| | | |
Managerial and professional specialty.........................| 13,404 | 13,669 | 819 | 846
Executive, administrative, and managerial...................| 6,963 | 6,929 | 829 | 843
Professional specialty......................................| 6,441 | 6,740 | 809 | 849
Technical, sales, and administrative support..................| 9,846 | 9,622 | 534 | 580
Technicians and related support.............................| 1,594 | 1,559 | 639 | 659
Sales occupations...........................................| 4,874 | 5,081 | 569 | 611
Administrative support, including clerical..................| 3,378 | 2,982 | 477 | 469
Service occupations...........................................| 4,559 | 4,554 | 346 | 355
Private household...........................................| 8 | 11 | (1) | (1)
Protective service..........................................| 1,607 | 1,605 | 512 | 554
Service, except private household and protective............| 2,944 | 2,938 | 295 | 300
Precision production, craft, and repair.......................| 9,864 | 9,945 | 542 | 564
Mechanics and repairers.....................................| 3,551 | 3,732 | 535 | 575
Construction trades.........................................| 3,364 | 3,344 | 513 | 523
Other precision production, craft, and repair...............| 2,950 | 2,869 | 584 | 584
Operators, fabricators, and laborers..........................| 11,309 | 11,482 | 410 | 409
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors...............| 4,494 | 4,637 | 411 | 419
Transportation and material moving occupations..............| 3,801 | 3,963 | 485 | 463
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.........| 3,014 | 2,882 | 332 | 329
Farming, forestry, and fishing................................| 1,088 | 1,115 | 293 | 303
| | | |
Women | | | |
| | | |
Managerial and professional specialty.........................| 12,344 | 13,333 | 601 | 612
Executive, administrative, and managerial...................| 5,760 | 5,955 | 551 | 581
Professional specialty......................................| 6,584 | 7,378 | 636 | 641
Technical, sales, and administrative support..................| 15,655 | 15,832 | 386 | 391
Technicians and related support.............................| 1,485 | 1,487 | 480 | 501
Sales occupations...........................................| 3,777 | 3,836 | 345 | 361
Administrative support, including clerical..................| 10,393 | 10,509 | 384 | 384
Service occupations...........................................| 4,789 | 4,693 | 266 | 269
Private household...........................................| 367 | 361 | 202 | 198
Protective service..........................................| 290 | 260 | 503 | 427
Service, except private household and protective............| 4,132 | 4,072 | 265 | 269
Precision production, craft, and repair.......................| 997 | 916 | 396 | 393
Mechanics and repairers.....................................| 160 | 148 | 543 | 540
Construction trades.........................................| 71 | 46 | (1) | (1)
Other precision production, craft, and repair...............| 766 | 722 | 361 | 369
Operators, fabricators, and laborers..........................| 3,341 | 3,396 | 294 | 308
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors...............| 2,514 | 2,514 | 296 | 308
Transportation and material moving occupations..............| 277 | 262 | 362 | 350
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.........| 550 | 621 | 264 | 294
Farming, forestry, and fishing................................| 140 | 141 | 238 | 266
| | | |
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1/ Data not shown where base is less than 100,000.
Table 4. Quartiles and selected deciles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected
characteristics, first quarter 1996 averages, not seasonally adjusted
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Number | Upper limit of:
| of |
______________________________________________________
| workers | | | | |
Characteristic | (in | First | First | Second | Third | Ninth
|thousands)| decile | quartile | quartile | quartile | decile
| | | | (median) | |
| | | | | |
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
SEX, RACE, AND HISPANIC ORIGIN | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Total, 16 years and over..........................| 88,699 | $233 | $318 | $489 | $738 | $1,050
Men.............................................| 50,388 | 253 | 358 | 557 | 824 | 1,171
Women...........................................| 38,312 | 215 | 291 | 419 | 619 | 871
| | | | | |
White...........................................| 74,423 | 238 | 327 | 504 | 758 | 1,088
Men...........................................| 43,177 | 260 | 374 | 580 | 853 | 1,209
Women.........................................| 31,247 | 218 | 296 | 427 | 632 | 887
| | | | | |
Black...........................................| 10,534 | 205 | 280 | 394 | 582 | 793
Men...........................................| 5,199 | 210 | 292 | 417 | 615 | 851
Women.........................................| 5,335 | 202 | 267 | 372 | 532 | 724
| | | | | |
Hispanic........................................| 8,599 | 189 | 245 | 330 | 519 | 784
Men...........................................| 5,495 | 195 | 253 | 344 | 556 | 826
Women.........................................| 3,104 | 182 | 232 | 315 | 466 | 674
| | | | | |
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT | | | | | |
| | | | | |
Total, 25 years and over........................| 79,193 | 248 | 344 | 518 | 767 | 1,097
Less than a high school diploma...............| 7,826 | 184 | 235 | 311 | 447 | 620
High school graduates, no college.............| 25,759 | 233 | 309 | 435 | 623 | 832
Some college or associate degree..............| 22,032 | 268 | 362 | 512 | 720 | 965
College graduates, total......................| 23,576 | 377 | 530 | 754 | 1,072 | 1,526
Bachelor's degree only......................| 15,602 | 347 | 493 | 701 | 974 | 1,394
Advanced degree.............................| 7,974 | 449 | 630 | 896 | 1,240 | 1,761
| | | | | |
Men, 25 years and over........................| 44,940 | 277 | 394 | 597 | 869 | 1,220
Less than a high school diploma.............| 5,053 | 196 | 256 | 343 | 502 | 677
High school graduates, no college...........| 14,693 | 273 | 360 | 509 | 710 | 916
Some college or associate degree............| 11,981 | 299 | 421 | 600 | 817 | 1,077
College graduates, total....................| 13,214 | 408 | 600 | 868 | 1,221 | 1,758
Bachelor's degree only....................| 8,524 | 385 | 557 | 795 | 1,127 | 1,577
Advanced degree...........................| 4,689 | 473 | 699 | 997 | 1,432 | 1,924
| | | | | |
Women, 25 years and over......................| 34,253 | 226 | 305 | 442 | 643 | 898
Less than a high school diploma.............| 2,773 | 169 | 208 | 268 | 357 | 480
High school graduates, no college...........| 11,066 | 209 | 275 | 363 | 492 | 657
Some college or associate degree............| 10,051 | 240 | 316 | 433 | 599 | 773
College graduates, total....................| 10,362 | 340 | 480 | 655 | 893 | 1,160
Bachelor's degree only....................| 7,077 | 317 | 447 | 613 | 816 | 1,088
Advanced degree...........................| 3,285 | 432 | 582 | 768 | 1,012 | 1,336
| | | | | |
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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.
Table 5. Median usual weekly earnings of part-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, quarterly averages,
not seasonally adjusted
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Number of workers | Median weekly earnings
| (in thousands) |
| |
_____________________________ _____________________________
Characteristic | | | |
| I | I | I | I
| 1995 | 1996 | 1995 | 1996
| | | |
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
| | | |
| | | |
SEX AND AGE | | | |
| | | |
Total, 16 years and over........................................| 20,945 | 21,047 | $136 | $139
| | | |
Men, 16 years and over.......................................| 6,512 | 6,586 | 124 | 132
16 to 24 years.............................................| 3,411 | 3,416 | 103 | 107
25 years and over..........................................| 3,101 | 3,170 | 168 | 173
| | | |
Women, 16 years and over.....................................| 14,433 | 14,461 | 141 | 142
16 to 24 years.............................................| 4,460 | 4,225 | 103 | 103
25 years and over..........................................| 9,973 | 10,237 | 164 | 165
| | | |
RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX | | | |
| | | |
White........................................................| 17,934 | 18,215 | 136 | 141
Men........................................................| 5,421 | 5,646 | 122 | 132
Women......................................................| 12,512 | 12,569 | 143 | 144
| | | |
Black........................................................| 2,132 | 1,995 | 132 | 128
Men........................................................| 766 | 626 | 142 | 124
Women......................................................| 1,366 | 1,369 | 126 | 129
| | | |
Hispanic origin..............................................| 1,759 | 1,773 | 135 | 139
Men........................................................| 641 | 672 | 139 | 141
Women......................................................| 1,118 | 1,101 | 133 | 138
| | | |
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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. Publication
of data on family relationship has been temporarily
suspended due to editing and weighting problems associated
with the redesigned survey.