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Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 00-301 Media contact: 691-5902 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Thursday, October 19, 2000 USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: THIRD QUARTER 2000 Median weekly earnings of the nation's 101.5 million full-time wage and salary workers were $575 in the third quarter of 2000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 5.3 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 3.5 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 (CPS), a nationwide sample survey of households in which respondents are asked, among other things, how much each wage and salary worker usually earns. (See the explanatory note.) Highlights from the third-quarter data are: --Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $491 per week, or 76.7 percent of the $640 median for men. The female-to-male earnings ratios were higher among Hispanics (90.6 percent) and blacks (88.2 percent) than among whites (74.8 percent). (See table 1.) --Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $492 per week, 74.1 percent of the median for white men ($664). The difference was much less among women, as black women's median earnings ($434) were 87.3 percent of those for their white counterparts ($497). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($402) were lower than those of blacks ($463) and whites ($590). --Among men, the $761 median weekly earnings level of 45- to 54-yearolds was the highest of any age group. Among women, earnings also were highest for those 45 to 54 years ($580). (See table 2.) --Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in managerial and professional specialty occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$994 for men and $706 for women. Men and women in service and farm jobs earned the least. (See table 3.) --Full-time workers age 25 and over without a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of $358, compared with $509 for high school graduates (no college) and $900 for college graduates. Among college graduates with advanced degrees (professional or master's degree and above), the highest-earning 10 percent of male workers made $2,404 or more per week, compared with $1,655 or more 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 U.S. Census Bureau 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: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. Reliability Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the 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 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. 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, 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-to24 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 all self-employed persons, regardless of whether or not their 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 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 (in thousands) Characteristic Median weekly earnings In current dollars III 1999 In constant (1982) dollars(1) III 2000 III 1999 III 2000 III 1999 III 2000 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 99,052 101,462 $546 $575 $315 $321 Men, 16 years and over................................. 16 to 24 years....................................... 25 years and over.................................... 56,199 7,296 48,903 57,430 7,719 49,711 614 347 668 640 378 700 354 200 386 356 211 390 Women, 16 years and over............................... 16 to 24 years....................................... 25 years and over.................................... 42,853 5,433 37,421 44,031 5,872 38,160 474 323 500 491 335 519 273 186 289 273 187 289 White.................................................. Men.................................................. Women................................................ 81,874 47,670 34,204 83,623 48,505 35,117 569 632 483 590 664 497 328 365 278 329 370 277 Black.................................................. Men.................................................. Women................................................ 12,496 5,972 6,524 12,776 6,143 6,633 454 492 416 463 492 434 262 284 240 258 274 242 Hispanic origin........................................ Men.................................................. Women................................................ 11,087 6,841 4,246 11,767 7,271 4,496 392 410 356 402 416 377 226 237 205 224 232 210 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX 1 Corrections to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January through August 2000 resulted in minor changes to a few median weekly earnings figures expressed in constant (1982) dollars for the first and second quarters of 2000. The constant dollar median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers age 16 and over for the first quarter of 2000 has been revised to $326, down $1 from what was originally published. In addition, the first quarter figures for all men age 16 and over and for black men were revised down by $1 to $368 and $281, respectively. In the second quarter, the figures for all women 16 and over and for all black workers were revised down by $1 to $272 and $262, respectively. For analytical purposes, the effect of the corrections in the CPI on the adjusted median weekly earnings figures is negligible. 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. Beginning in January 2000, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. Table 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, third quarter 2000 averages, not seasonally adjusted Total Age, race, and Hispanic origin Number of workers (in thousands) Men Median weekly earnings Number of workers (in thousands) Women Median weekly earnings Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings TOTAL 16 years and over......................................... 101,462 $575 57,430 $640 44,031 $491 16 to 24 years.......................................... 16 to 19 years........................................ 20 to 24 years........................................ 25 years and over....................................... 25 to 54 years........................................ 25 to 34 years...................................... 35 to 44 years...................................... 45 to 54 years...................................... 55 years and over..................................... 55 to 64 years...................................... 65 years and over................................... 13,591 3,110 10,481 87,871 77,023 25,163 28,988 22,872 10,848 9,451 1,397 360 293 388 615 616 569 629 673 605 619 477 7,719 1,811 5,908 49,711 43,562 14,534 16,582 12,446 6,149 5,301 848 378 301 403 700 698 610 735 761 715 729 588 5,872 1,299 4,573 38,160 33,460 10,629 12,406 10,426 4,699 4,151 549 335 280 364 519 523 500 514 580 497 510 382 83,623 11,470 72,153 62,931 9,222 590 362 634 636 619 48,505 6,694 41,811 36,492 5,319 664 379 725 723 735 35,117 4,775 30,342 26,439 3,903 497 337 530 536 505 12,776 1,607 11,169 10,040 1,129 463 338 494 496 463 6,143 778 5,365 4,807 558 492 359 522 521 526 6,633 829 5,804 5,233 571 434 323 464 470 402 11,767 2,176 9,590 8,798 793 402 316 429 431 402 7,271 1,369 5,902 5,395 507 416 318 459 459 463 4,496 808 3,688 3,403 286 377 309 395 399 343 White 16 years and over......................................... 16 to 24 years.......................................... 25 years and over....................................... 25 to 54 years........................................ 55 years and over..................................... Black 16 years and over......................................... 16 to 24 years.......................................... 25 years and over....................................... 25 to 54 years........................................ 55 years and over..................................... Hispanic origin 16 years and over......................................... 16 to 24 years.......................................... 25 years and over....................................... 25 to 54 years........................................ 55 years and over..................................... 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. Beginning in January 2000, data reflect revised population controls used in the household 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 (in thousands) Occupation and sex Median weekly earnings III 1999 III 2000 III 1999 III 2000 30,779 14,792 15,988 27,749 3,634 9,860 14,255 11,302 487 2,191 8,624 11,914 4,383 4,043 3,488 15,429 6,771 4,678 3,980 1,879 31,849 15,482 16,367 28,620 3,780 10,237 14,603 11,035 351 2,147 8,537 12,336 4,287 4,553 3,495 15,740 6,631 4,724 4,386 1,881 $806 796 812 485 608 515 449 336 246 587 313 598 622 560 605 431 426 515 351 331 $833 850 817 504 654 557 463 352 252 638 324 612 648 592 599 433 423 532 380 345 15,635 7,998 7,637 10,664 1,863 5,491 3,310 5,422 25 1,804 3,593 10,863 4,182 3,941 2,740 11,996 16,144 8,319 7,824 11,072 1,941 5,564 3,567 5,230 6 1,796 3,427 11,285 4,082 4,461 2,741 12,130 955 963 948 620 708 683 527 394 (1) 614 331 608 621 566 651 475 994 1,026 962 651 766 691 545 411 (1) 678 347 621 645 595 639 475 TOTAL Managerial and professional specialty.................... Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. Professional specialty................................. Technical, sales, and administrative support............. Technicians and related support........................ Sales occupations...................................... Administrative support, including clerical............. Service occupations...................................... Private household...................................... Protective service..................................... Service, except private household and protective....... Precision production, craft, and repair.................. Mechanics and repairers................................ Construction trades.................................... Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... Transportation and material moving occupations......... Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... Men Managerial and professional specialty.................... Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. Professional specialty................................. Technical, sales, and administrative support............. Technicians and related support........................ Sales occupations...................................... Administrative support, including clerical............. Service occupations...................................... Private household...................................... Protective service..................................... Service, except private household and protective....... Precision production, craft, and repair.................. Mechanics and repairers................................ Construction trades.................................... Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... Transportation and material moving occupations......... Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 4,418 4,391 3,186 1,620 4,205 4,341 3,584 1,570 483 521 365 335 480 552 394 362 15,145 6,794 8,351 17,085 1,771 4,370 10,944 5,879 462 388 5,030 1,051 202 101 748 3,434 2,353 287 794 260 15,705 7,163 8,543 17,548 1,839 4,673 11,036 5,805 345 351 5,110 1,051 205 92 754 3,611 2,426 383 802 311 690 665 709 430 533 385 432 304 244 488 304 464 677 436 435 335 336 398 316 316 706 682 725 449 539 413 443 316 251 502 316 466 695 (1) 423 355 363 382 321 291 Women Managerial and professional specialty.................... Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. Professional specialty................................. Technical, sales, and administrative support............. Technicians and related support........................ Sales occupations...................................... Administrative support, including clerical............. Service occupations...................................... Private household...................................... Protective service..................................... Service, except private household and protective....... Precision production, craft, and repair.................. Mechanics and repairers................................ Construction trades.................................... Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... Transportation and material moving occupations......... Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1 Data not shown where base is less than 100,000. Beginning in January 2000, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. Table 4. Quartiles and selected deciles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, third quarter 2000 averages, not seasonally adjusted Characteristic Number of workers (in thousands) Upper limit of: First decile First quartile Second quartile (median) Third quartile Ninth decile 101,462 57,430 $277 296 $377 415 $575 640 $859 972 $1,287 1,459 SEX, RACE, AND HISPANIC ORIGIN Total, 16 years and over.................................. Men..................................................... Women................................................... 44,031 253 335 491 723 1,036 White................................................... Men................................................... Women................................................. 83,623 48,505 35,117 281 301 256 387 431 343 590 664 497 888 1,000 734 1,340 1,490 1,058 Black................................................... Men................................................... Women................................................. 12,776 6,143 6,633 249 264 239 323 349 307 463 492 434 680 707 645 923 979 872 Hispanic................................................ Men................................................... Women................................................. 11,767 7,271 4,496 236 248 220 295 306 278 402 416 377 604 630 550 866 942 771 Total, 25 years and over................................ Less than a high school diploma....................... High school graduates, no college..................... Some college or associate degree...................... College graduates, total.............................. Bachelor's degree only.............................. Advanced degree..................................... 87,871 8,372 27,172 24,979 27,348 18,193 9,155 294 226 278 314 445 414 535 408 279 366 424 624 593 727 615 358 509 603 900 836 1,028 914 502 722 839 1,357 1,252 1,519 1,369 701 972 1,138 1,885 1,753 2,085 Men, 25 years and over................................ Less than a high school diploma..................... High school graduates, no college................... Some college or associate degree.................... College graduates, total............................ Bachelor's degree only............................ Advanced degree................................... 49,711 5,404 15,374 13,445 15,488 10,309 5,178 323 245 308 360 495 478 562 474 303 414 504 701 668 779 700 406 595 703 1,028 957 1,188 1,026 580 812 964 1,519 1,432 1,728 1,532 762 1,070 1,280 2,088 1,908 2,404 Women, 25 years and over.............................. Less than a high school diploma..................... High school graduates, no college................... Some college or associate degree.................... College graduates, total............................ Bachelor's degree only............................ Advanced degree................................... 38,160 2,967 11,798 11,534 11,861 7,884 3,977 270 195 251 288 393 360 510 360 246 319 376 573 517 665 519 303 429 505 765 713 896 756 388 590 694 1,100 1,017 1,245 1,092 502 759 904 1,511 1,397 1,655 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. Beginning in January 2000, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. Table 5. Median usual weekly earnings of part-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings Characteristic III 1999 III 2000 III 1999 III 2000 Total, 16 years and over.................................. 19,996 19,103 $171 $174 Men, 16 years and over................................. 16 to 24 years....................................... 25 years and over.................................... 6,135 3,383 2,752 5,721 3,169 2,552 162 137 209 159 137 211 Women, 16 years and over............................... 16 to 24 years....................................... 25 years and over.................................... 13,861 4,330 9,531 13,382 4,168 9,214 175 130 208 183 140 210 White.................................................. Men.................................................. Women................................................ 17,316 5,222 12,094 16,578 4,871 11,707 171 162 177 176 159 185 Black.................................................. Men.................................................. Women................................................ 1,915 626 1,289 1,747 576 1,171 164 157 167 160 158 161 Hispanic origin........................................ Men.................................................. Women................................................ 1,793 711 1,081 1,634 483 1,151 161 180 150 159 161 159 SEX AND AGE 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. Beginning in January 2000, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.