Full text of Third Quarter 1996 : Text File, 96-441
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Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 96-441
606-6373
For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact: 606-5902 Thursday, October 24, 1996
USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS:
THIRD QUARTER 1996
Median weekly earnings of the nation's 92.7 million full-time wage and
salary workers were $488 in the third quarter of 1996, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 1.9
percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 3.0 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 third-quarter data
are:
---Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $415 a
week, or 75.2 percent of the $552 median for men. The female-male earnings
ratios were higher among blacks (89.6 percent) and Hispanics (88.5 percent)
than among whites (73.3 percent). (See table 1.)
---Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $405 per
week, 70.2 percent of the median for white men ($577). The racial
variation was much less among women, as black women's median earnings
($363) were 85.8 percent of those for their white counterparts ($423).
Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($346) were
lower than those of blacks ($383) and whites ($502). (See table 1.)
---The highest median weekly earnings for men who usually work full time
were in the 45- to 54-year-age group ($693), with the median for 55- to 64-
year-old men next, at $646. Among women, the highest-earning age group
also was 45- to 54-year-olds, who had a median of $483; this was followed
by 35- to 44-year-olds, with a median of $459. (See table 2.)
---Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in
managerial and professional specialty occupations had the highest median
weekly earnings--$837 for men and $614 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 $319, compared with $445 for high
school graduates (no college) and $756 for college graduates. Among
college graduates with advanced degrees (master's degree and above), the
highest 10 percent of male workers earned more than $1,992, compared with
more than $1,417 for their female counterparts. (See table 4.)
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
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.
- 2 -
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)
Characteristic In current dollars In constant (1982)
dollars
III III
1995 1996
III III III III
1995 1996 1995 1996
SEX AND AGE
Total, 16 years and over.................................. 90,686 92,703 $479 $488 $302 $299
Men, 16 years and over................................. 52,228 53,000 536 552 338 338
16 to 24 years....................................... 6,782 6,694 304 305 192 187
25 years and over.................................... 45,446 46,305 591 600 373 368
Women, 16 years and over............................... 38,458 39,703 405 415 255 254
16 to 24 years....................................... 4,805 4,756 269 280 170 172
25 years and over.................................... 33,653 34,947 432 443 273 272
RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX
White.................................................. 76,146 77,704 495 502 312 308
Men.................................................. 44,672 45,442 565 577 357 354
Women................................................ 31,474 32,262 415 423 262 260
Black.................................................. 10,628 11,060 380 383 240 235
Men.................................................. 5,309 5,402 406 405 256 248
Women................................................ 5,319 5,657 358 363 226 222
Hispanic origin........................................ 9,007 9,460 333 346 210 212
Men.................................................. 5,790 6,127 357 364 225 223
Women................................................ 3,217 3,333 305 322 192 197
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, third
quarter 1996 averages, not seasonally adjusted
Total Men Women
Age, race, and Hispanic origin Number Number Number
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......................................... 92,703 $488 53,000 $552 39,703 $415
16 to 24 years.......................................... 11,451 294 6,694 305 4,756 280
16 to 19 years........................................ 2,625 233 1,625 244 1,000 219
20 to 24 years........................................ 8,826 312 5,069 324 3,756 297
25 years and over....................................... 81,252 520 46,305 600 34,947 443
25 to 54 years........................................ 72,273 519 41,171 596 31,101 447
25 to 34 years...................................... 25,918 467 15,115 503 10,803 417
35 to 44 years...................................... 27,092 551 15,486 630 11,606 459
45 to 54 years...................................... 19,263 592 10,570 693 8,693 483
55 years and over..................................... 8,979 521 5,134 630 3,845 416
55 to 64 years...................................... 7,921 544 4,483 646 3,439 428
65 years and over................................... 1,058 372 651 473 406 325
White
16 years and over......................................... 77,704 502 45,442 577 32,262 423
16 to 24 years.......................................... 9,786 299 5,874 310 3,911 282
25 years and over....................................... 67,919 544 39,568 617 28,351 456
25 to 54 years........................................ 60,162 544 35,069 613 25,093 462
55 years and over..................................... 7,757 541 4,499 650 3,258 420
Black
16 years and over......................................... 11,060 383 5,402 405 5,657 363
16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,254 258 625 256 629 259
25 years and over....................................... 9,806 408 4,777 436 5,029 383
25 to 54 years........................................ 8,876 407 4,331 433 4,546 383
55 years and over..................................... 929 417 447 465 483 386
Hispanic origin
16 years and over......................................... 9,460 346 6,127 364 3,333 322
16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,567 275 1,085 272 482 280
25 years and over....................................... 7,892 374 5,041 395 2,851 336
25 to 54 years........................................ 7,267 373 4,649 391 2,618 341
55 years and over..................................... 626 383 393 443 233 300
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 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
III III III III
1995 1996 1995 1996
TOTAL
Managerial and professional specialty.................... 26,443 27,291 $704 $710
Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 13,200 13,761 680 683
Professional specialty................................. 13,243 13,530 724 731
Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 26,306 26,512 425 442
Technicians and related support........................ 3,316 3,290 562 557
Sales occupations...................................... 9,035 9,341 438 464
Administrative support, including clerical............. 13,956 13,882 401 410
Service occupations...................................... 9,885 10,484 299 302
Private household...................................... 358 393 193 211
Protective service..................................... 2,048 1,947 535 577
Service, except private household and protective....... 7,479 8,145 277 282
Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 11,323 11,271 524 545
Mechanics and repairers................................ 3,836 3,826 552 583
Construction trades.................................... 3,902 3,833 508 520
Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 3,585 3,613 522 518
Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 15,080 15,495 379 387
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 6,990 7,172 368 371
Transportation and material moving occupations......... 4,170 4,384 472 471
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 3,920 3,939 318 331
Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,649 1,649 294 295
Men
Managerial and professional specialty.................... 13,800 14,060 832 837
Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 7,263 7,476 831 823
Professional specialty................................. 6,536 6,585 834 853
Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 10,136 10,270 554 548
Technicians and related support........................ 1,768 1,779 649 636
Sales occupations...................................... 5,054 5,245 570 569
Administrative support, including clerical............. 3,314 3,246 502 495
Service occupations...................................... 5,015 5,326 354 347
Private household...................................... 19 24 (1) (1)
Protective service..................................... 1,757 1,678 $566 $592
Service, except private household and protective....... 3,239 3,623 300 300
Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 10,347 10,207 544 574
Mechanics and repairers................................ 3,681 3,646 555 584
Construction trades.................................... 3,845 3,750 510 523
Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 2,821 2,811 583 593
Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 11,472 11,669 409 424
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 4,362 4,369 $419 $429
Transportation and material moving occupations......... 3,926 4,102 477 486
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 3,184 3,198 322 342
Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,457 1,468 302 304
Women
Managerial and professional specialty.................... 12,644 13,231 611 614
Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 5,937 6,286 574 575
Professional specialty................................. 6,707 6,945 643 653
Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 16,169 16,242 380 398
Technicians and related support........................ 1,547 1,511 468 491
Sales occupations...................................... 3,981 4,095 319 358
Administrative support, including clerical............. 10,641 10,636 382 395
Service occupations...................................... 4,869 5,159 263 270
Private household...................................... 339 368 198 213
Protective service..................................... 291 269 411 420
Service, except private household and protective....... 4,240 4,521 263 270
Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 976 1,065 349 362
Mechanics and repairers................................ 155 180 484 562
Construction trades.................................... 57 83 (1) (1)
Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 763 802 $325 $346
Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 3,608 3,826 304 308
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 2,628 2,803 303 308
Transportation and material moving occupations......... 243 282 346 324
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 736 741 302 304
Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 192 181 247 242
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, third quarter 1996 averages, not seasonally adjusted
Number Upper limit of:
of
Characteristic workers
(in First First Second Third Ninth
thousands) decile quartile quartile quartile decile
(median)
SEX, RACE, AND HISPANIC ORIGIN
Total, 16 years and over.................................. 92,703 $229 $317 $488 $733 $1,046
Men..................................................... 53,000 248 354 552 826 1,165
Women................................................... 39,703 212 289 415 613 863
White................................................... 77,704 234 328 502 755 1,074
Men................................................... 45,442 256 372 577 850 1,196
Women................................................. 32,262 215 295 423 623 880
Black................................................... 11,060 203 272 383 575 782
Men................................................... 5,402 215 286 405 608 892
Women................................................. 5,657 194 259 363 523 719
Hispanic................................................ 9,460 190 246 346 513 758
Men................................................... 6,127 194 254 364 547 813
Women................................................. 3,333 185 233 322 459 668
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
Total, 25 years and over................................ 81,252 249 350 520 771 1,098
Less than a high school diploma....................... 8,337 186 236 319 450 630
High school graduates, no college..................... 26,686 236 314 445 623 844
Some college or associate degree...................... 22,997 270 369 521 734 974
College graduates, total.............................. 23,231 372 534 756 1,084 1,502
Bachelor's degree only.............................. 15,543 349 496 698 984 1,352
Advanced degree..................................... 7,689 454 634 918 1,268 1,767
Men, 25 years and over................................ 46,305 279 398 600 876 1,226
Less than a high school diploma..................... 5,508 197 264 362 509 711
High school graduates, no college................... 14,960 271 375 514 714 943
Some college or associate degree.................... 12,475 301 429 611 842 1,085
College graduates, total............................ 13,363 396 597 865 1,225 1,701
Bachelor's degree only............................ 8,932 378 564 792 1,125 1,501
Advanced degree................................... 4,430 477 685 1,011 1,447 1,992
Women, 25 years and over.............................. 34,947 227 308 443 642 898
Less than a high school diploma..................... 2,829 170 209 269 344 422
High school graduates, no college................... 11,727 209 278 371 502 668
Some college or associate degree.................... 10,522 244 325 445 605 782
College graduates, total............................ 9,869 349 484 660 909 1,193
Bachelor's degree only............................ 6,610 $325 $444 $608 $812 $1,069
Advanced degree................................... 3,258 439 593 792 1,072 1,417
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)
Age, race, and Hispanic origin
III III III III
1995 1996 1995 1996
SEX AND AGE
Total, 16 years and over.................................. 19,787 20,045 $145 $150
Men, 16 years and over................................. 6,026 6,264 135 141
16 to 24 years....................................... 3,327 3,302 116 118
25 years and over.................................... 2,699 2,962 169 182
Women, 16 years and over............................... 13,761 13,781 149 155
16 to 24 years....................................... 4,149 4,279 113 116
25 years and over.................................... 9,612 9,502 171 182
RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX
White.................................................. 17,071 17,226 145 152
Men.................................................. 5,036 5,194 133 143
Women................................................ 12,035 12,032 151 157
Black.................................................. 1,949 1,968 139 138
Men.................................................. 697 733 136 131
Women................................................ 1,252 1,235 141 142
Hispanic origin........................................ 1,583 1,564 142 143
Men.................................................. 601 530 150 158
Women................................................ 981 1,034 137 138
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.