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Technical information: (202) 691-6378 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ Media contact: 691-5902 USDL 01-368 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Wednesday, October 24, 2001 USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: THIRD QUARTER 2001 Median weekly earnings of the nation's 100.9 million full-time wage and salary workers were $595 in the third quarter of 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 3.5 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 the Explanatory Note.) Highlights from the third-quarter data are: --Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $507 per week, or 75.2 percent of the $674 median for men. The female-to-male earnings ratios were higher among blacks (88.6 percent) and Hispanics (85.1 percent) than among whites (74.2 percent). (See table 1.) --Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $516 per week, 74.4 percent of the median for white men ($694). The difference was much less among women, as black women's median earnings ($457) were 88.7 percent of those for their white counterparts ($515). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($418) were lower than those of blacks ($489) and whites ($610). (See table 1.) --Among men, the $794 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 old ($593). (See table 2.) --Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in managerial and professional specialty occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$1,053 for men and $727 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 $381, compared with $522 for high school graduates (no college) and $931 for college graduates. Among college graduates with advanced degrees (professional or master's degree and above), the highestearning 10 percent of male workers made $2,432 or more per week, compared with $1,672 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 60,000 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). - 2 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. 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 2000 In constant (1982) dollars III 2001 III 2000 III 2001 III 2000 III 2001 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 101,462 100,851 $575 $595 $321 $323 Men, 16 years and over................................. 16 to 24 years....................................... 25 years and over.................................... 57,430 7,719 49,711 56,865 7,303 49,562 640 378 700 674 389 725 356 211 390 366 211 394 Women, 16 years and over............................... 44,031 43,987 491 507 273 275 16 to 24 years....................................... 25 years and over.................................... 5,872 38,160 5,555 38,432 335 519 350 542 187 289 190 294 White.................................................. Men.................................................. Women................................................ 83,623 48,505 35,117 83,196 48,118 35,078 590 664 497 610 694 515 329 370 277 331 377 279 Black.................................................. Men.................................................. Women................................................ 12,776 6,143 6,633 12,642 5,953 6,689 463 492 434 489 516 457 258 274 242 266 280 248 Hispanic origin........................................ Men.................................................. Women................................................ 11,767 7,271 4,496 11,712 7,159 4,552 402 416 377 418 450 383 224 232 210 227 244 208 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. Table 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, third quarter 2001 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......................................... 16 to 24 years.......................................... 16 to 19 years........................................ 20 to 24 years........................................ 25 years and over....................................... 100,851 12,858 2,852 10,006 87,994 $595 373 306 393 636 56,865 7,303 1,628 5,675 49,562 $674 389 321 408 725 43,987 5,555 1,224 4,331 38,432 $507 350 291 375 542 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................................... 76,715 24,579 28,402 23,734 11,279 9,756 1,523 638 582 662 691 620 643 467 43,252 14,054 16,222 12,976 6,310 5,398 912 722 633 759 794 751 769 555 33,463 10,525 12,180 10,758 4,969 4,358 611 548 512 546 593 511 524 360 83,196 10,876 72,320 62,689 9,631 610 378 659 661 649 48,118 6,353 41,765 36,260 5,505 694 395 748 744 778 35,078 4,523 30,555 26,429 4,126 515 353 558 565 519 12,642 1,494 11,148 9,949 1,198 489 333 510 511 485 5,953 677 5,276 4,707 569 516 336 553 557 520 6,689 817 5,872 5,242 630 457 330 484 486 443 11,712 1,999 9,713 8,837 876 418 327 448 453 406 7,159 1,300 5,859 5,353 506 450 341 488 490 462 4,552 698 3,854 3,484 370 383 311 402 404 394 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. 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) Median weekly earnings Occupation and sex III 2000 III 2001 III 2000 III 2001 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 32,298 16,149 16,149 28,546 3,837 10,323 14,386 11,608 354 2,163 9,091 12,236 4,160 4,649 3,427 14,504 5,957 4,686 3,862 1,658 $833 850 817 504 654 557 463 352 252 638 324 612 648 592 599 433 423 532 380 345 $867 884 854 516 683 568 479 368 248 609 345 627 670 611 614 475 462 587 390 347 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 16,476 8,631 7,845 11,054 1,933 5,657 3,464 5,424 12 1,781 3,631 11,149 3,927 4,558 2,664 994 1,026 962 651 766 691 545 411 (1) 678 347 621 645 595 639 1,053 1,077 1,026 664 786 683 552 420 (1) 624 366 645 672 613 669 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........................... 12,130 4,205 4,341 3,584 1,570 11,346 3,888 4,304 3,153 1,416 475 480 552 394 362 508 513 603 402 361 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 15,823 7,518 8,304 17,492 1,905 4,665 10,922 6,184 342 382 5,461 1,087 233 90 764 3,159 2,069 381 708 242 706 682 725 449 539 413 443 316 251 502 316 466 695 727 709 738 465 583 421 461 334 241 501 331 489 620 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 (1) (1) 423 355 363 382 321 291 465 377 379 440 347 299 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 2001 averages, not seasonally adjusted 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.................................. Men..................................................... Women................................................... 100,851 56,865 43,987 $288 309 267 $392 435 351 $595 674 507 $897 1,014 745 $1,355 1,520 1,090 White................................................... Men................................................... Women................................................. 83,196 48,118 35,078 292 314 272 402 451 358 610 694 515 921 1,043 755 1,386 1,547 1,114 Black................................................... Men................................................... Women................................................. 12,642 5,953 6,689 262 284 247 338 369 319 489 516 457 708 758 654 1,014 1,127 929 Hispanic................................................ Men................................................... Women................................................. 11,712 7,159 4,552 244 259 230 305 319 285 418 450 383 631 683 557 941 1,012 809 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..................................... 87,994 8,399 26,694 25,108 27,792 18,598 9,194 305 236 290 322 465 430 561 424 290 379 442 650 613 743 636 381 522 621 931 870 1,078 951 515 741 869 1,382 1,278 1,549 1,419 716 1,007 1,208 1,905 1,809 2,124 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................................... 49,562 5,484 14,856 13,488 15,735 10,535 5,199 340 255 329 380 505 479 599 488 311 441 515 727 678 860 725 416 620 724 1,098 1,006 1,261 1,096 584 845 988 1,562 1,469 1,768 1,578 788 1,144 1,340 2,204 2,001 2,432 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................................... 38,432 2,915 11,838 11,621 12,058 8,063 3,995 280 212 261 292 426 392 518 375 258 330 385 596 559 674 542 317 440 521 788 750 886 778 414 593 714 1,128 1,035 1,251 1,142 523 778 962 1,498 1,383 1,672 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. 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 2000 III 2001 III 2000 III 2001 Total, 16 years and over.................................. 19,103 19,747 $174 $189 Men, 16 years and over................................. 16 to 24 years....................................... 25 years and over.................................... 5,721 3,169 2,552 6,253 3,321 2,933 159 137 211 180 157 217 Women, 16 years and over............................... 16 to 24 years....................................... 25 years and over.................................... 13,382 4,168 9,214 13,494 4,214 9,280 183 140 210 192 150 218 White.................................................. Men.................................................. Women................................................ 16,578 4,871 11,707 16,987 5,223 11,764 176 159 185 190 182 194 Black.................................................. Men.................................................. Women................................................ 1,747 576 1,171 1,859 711 1,148 160 158 161 172 162 177 Hispanic origin........................................ 1,634 1,926 159 190 SEX AND AGE RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX Men.................................................. Women................................................ 483 1,151 685 1,241 161 159 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. 194 188