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1 Technical information: Media contact: (202) 691-6378 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ 691-5902 USDL 03-551 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Friday, October 17, 2003 USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: THIRD QUARTER 2003 Median weekly earnings of the nation’s 101.4 million full-time wage and salary workers were $618 in the third quarter of 2003, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 2.5 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 2.2 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 $550 per week, or 79.8 percent of the $689 median for men. The female-to-male earnings ratios were higher among Hispanics (89.4 percent) and blacks (84.2 percent) than among whites (80.4 percent) or Asians (77.7 percent). (See table 1.) —Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $568 per week, 80.2 percent of the median for white men ($708). The difference was less among women, as black women’s median earnings ($478) were 84.0 percent of those for their white counterparts ($569). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($444) were lower than those of blacks ($509), whites ($633), and Asians ($692). (See table 1.) —Among men, those age 45 to 54 ($839) had the highest median weekly earnings. Among women, earnings also were highest for those 45 to 54 years old ($619). (See table 2.) —Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in managerial, professional, and related occupations had the highest median weekly earnings—$1,056 for men and $755 for women. Men and women in service jobs earned the least. (See table 3.) —Full-time workers age 25 and over without a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of $397, compared with $563 for high school graduates (no college) and $958 for college graduates holding at least a bachelor’s degree. Among college graduates with advanced degrees (professional or master’s degree and above), the highest-earning 10 percent of male workers made $2,495 or more per week, compared with $1,812 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 selfemployment 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 bynonsampling 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 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-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 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 or Latino ethnicity. This refers to persons who identified themselves in the enumeration process as being Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. 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 In constant (1982) dollars III 2002 III 2003 Total, 16 years and over ........................................................................... 101,459 101,372 $603 $618 $322 $323 Men, 16 years and over ......................................................................... 16 to 24 years ...................................................................................... 25 years and over ................................................................................ 57,402 7,030 50,373 57,175 6,746 50,429 671 376 729 689 396 742 358 201 389 360 207 388 Women, 16 years and over ................................................................... 16 to 24 years ...................................................................................... 25 years and over ................................................................................ 44,056 5,267 38,789 44,197 5,018 39,180 527 360 570 550 366 585 282 192 305 288 191 306 White1 .................................................................................................... Men ...................................................................................................... Women ................................................................................................ 83,444 48,281 35,162 82,828 47,815 35,012 620 694 548 633 708 569 331 371 293 331 370 297 Black or African American1 ................................................................... Men ...................................................................................................... Women ................................................................................................ 12,288 5,901 6,387 11,984 5,654 6,330 484 511 457 509 568 478 259 273 244 266 297 250 Asian1 .................................................................................................... Men ...................................................................................................... Women ................................................................................................ 4,723 2,661 2,062 4,382 2,500 1,882 665 757 576 692 762 592 355 404 308 362 399 310 Hispanic or Latino .................................................................................. Men ...................................................................................................... Women ................................................................................................ 13,256 8,256 4,999 13,805 8,761 5,044 420 435 401 444 463 414 224 232 214 232 242 216 III 2002 III 2003 III 2002 III 2003 SEX AND AGE RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY, AND SEX 1 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group are not included. Prior to 2003, persons who reported more than one race group were included in the group they indentified as the main race. NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Beginning in January 2003, 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 or Latino ethnicity, and sex, third quarter 2003 averages, not seasonally adjusted Total Age, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 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 ................................................................................... 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 ............................................................................... 101,372 11,764 2,040 9,724 89,608 76,458 25,082 26,889 24,487 13,150 11,489 1,661 $618 384 315 401 662 659 594 683 729 684 708 526 57,175 6,746 1,191 5,555 50,429 43,222 14,513 15,458 13,251 7,207 6,212 995 $689 396 324 413 742 735 630 769 839 786 816 620 44,197 5,018 849 4,169 39,180 33,237 10,569 11,431 11,236 5,943 5,277 666 $550 366 304 384 585 586 547 586 619 583 599 415 82,828 9,800 73,028 61,860 11,168 633 383 684 681 704 47,815 5,726 42,090 35,891 6,199 708 397 766 758 821 35,012 4,074 30,938 25,969 4,969 569 363 599 600 590 11,984 1,270 10,714 9,454 1,260 509 381 529 528 537 5,654 637 5,018 4,410 607 568 389 592 591 595 6,330 633 5,696 5,043 653 478 373 497 495 505 4,382 399 3,984 3,474 510 692 422 728 731 700 2,500 231 2,269 1,988 281 762 403 807 831 735 1,882 168 1,715 1,486 228 592 498 607 599 685 13,805 2,098 11,708 10,747 961 444 357 477 477 477 8,761 1,386 7,376 6,830 546 463 358 493 490 522 5,044 712 4,332 3,917 415 414 355 431 438 386 White1 16 years and over ..................................................................................... 16 to 24 years ......................................................................................... 25 years and over ................................................................................... 25 to 54 years ....................................................................................... 55 years and over ................................................................................. Black or African American1 16 years and over ..................................................................................... 16 to 24 years ......................................................................................... 25 years and over ................................................................................... 25 to 54 years ....................................................................................... 55 years and over ................................................................................. Asian1 16 years and over ..................................................................................... 16 to 24 years ......................................................................................... 25 years and over ................................................................................... 25 to 54 years ....................................................................................... 55 years and over ................................................................................. Hispanic or Latino 16 years and over ..................................................................................... 16 to 24 years ......................................................................................... 25 years and over ................................................................................... 25 to 54 years ....................................................................................... 55 years and over ................................................................................. 1 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group are not included. Prior to 2003, persons who reported more than one race group were included in the group they indentified as the main race. NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Beginning in January 2003, 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) Median weekly earnings Occupation and sex III 2002 III 2003 III 2002 III 2003 35,350 14,317 21,034 13,959 25,567 10,079 15,488 10,824 838 6,084 3,903 15,759 9,109 6,650 35,663 14,388 21,276 13,996 25,199 10,003 15,196 11,344 783 6,378 4,182 15,170 8,790 6,380 $857 925 816 391 530 591 512 591 338 583 660 508 503 516 $883 951 840 400 544 598 524 600 398 586 679 527 526 529 17,742 7,984 9,758 7,252 9,880 5,848 4,032 10,275 628 5,921 3,725 12,254 6,414 5,840 17,799 8,070 9,728 7,112 9,583 5,653 3,930 10,870 648 6,224 3,998 11,811 6,210 5,601 1,015 1,067 973 423 652 732 577 599 369 586 663 553 563 542 1,056 1,112 1,018 451 647 728 571 604 408 587 681 579 595 549 Managerial, professional, and related occupations ................................. Management, business, and financial operations occupations ............. Professional and related occupations .................................................... Service occupations ................................................................................ Sales and office occupations ................................................................... Sales and related occupations .............................................................. Office and administrative support occupations ...................................... Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations ............. Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations ............................................ Construction and extraction occupations ............................................... Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations ................................ Production, transportation, and material moving occupations ................. Production occupations ......................................................................... Transportation and material moving occupations .................................. 17,608 6,332 11,276 6,706 15,687 4,231 11,456 549 209 162 178 3,505 2,695 810 17,865 6,317 11,547 6,883 15,616 4,350 11,266 474 135 154 185 3,359 2,579 780 739 768 723 356 483 426 498 397 306 478 573 397 401 382 755 808 731 361 501 428 516 488 327 510 639 414 400 477 NOTE: Occupations reflect the introduction of the 2002 Census occupational classification system derived from the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification system into the Current Population Survey. Beginning in January 2003, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. TOTAL Managerial, professional, and related occupations ................................. Management, business, and financial operations occupations ............. Professional and related occupations .................................................... Service occupations ................................................................................ Sales and office occupations ................................................................... Sales and related occupations .............................................................. Office and administrative support occupations ...................................... Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations ............. Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations ............................................ Construction and extraction occupations ............................................... Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations ................................ Production, transportation, and material moving occupations ................. Production occupations ......................................................................... Transportation and material moving occupations .................................. Men Managerial, professional, and related occupations ................................. Management, business, and financial operations occupations ............. Professional and related occupations .................................................... Service occupations ................................................................................ Sales and office occupations ................................................................... Sales and related occupations .............................................................. Office and administrative support occupations ...................................... Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations ............. Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations ............................................ Construction and extraction occupations ............................................... Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations ................................ Production, transportation, and material moving occupations ................. Production occupations ......................................................................... Transportation and material moving occupations .................................. Women Table 4. Quartiles and selected deciles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, third quarter 2003 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 OR LATINO ETHNICITY Total, 16 years and over ........................................................................... Men ......................................................................................................... Women ................................................................................................... 101,372 57,175 44,197 $300 321 282 $411 453 377 $618 689 550 $950 1,073 800 $1,405 1,562 1,159 White1 ..................................................................................................... Men ....................................................................................................... Women ................................................................................................. 82,828 47,815 35,012 305 326 286 420 466 384 633 708 569 975 1,101 817 1,444 1,598 1,184 Black or African American1 .................................................................... Men ....................................................................................................... Women ................................................................................................. 11,984 5,654 6,330 276 293 259 360 382 338 509 568 478 736 769 701 1,073 1,152 992 Asian1 ..................................................................................................... Men ....................................................................................................... Women ................................................................................................. 4,382 2,500 1,882 299 320 263 443 489 402 692 762 592 1,073 1,253 857 1,638 1,863 1,246 Hispanic or Latino ................................................................................... Men ....................................................................................................... Women ................................................................................................. 13,805 8,761 5,044 264 278 244 327 344 308 444 463 414 654 681 612 991 1,074 880 Total, 25 years and over ......................................................................... Less than a high school diploma .......................................................... High school graduates, no college ....................................................... Some college or associate degree ....................................................... Bachelor’s degree and higher ............................................................... Bachelor’s degree only ....................................................................... Advanced degree ............................................................................... 89,608 8,575 27,060 24,521 29,452 19,480 9,972 319 241 302 337 478 444 593 449 303 403 460 671 624 775 662 397 563 634 958 892 1,132 1,001 518 777 914 1,410 1,303 1,587 1,469 731 1,074 1,258 1,914 1,861 2,201 Men, 25 years and over ........................................................................ Less than a high school diploma ........................................................ High school graduates, no college ..................................................... Some college or associate degree ..................................................... Bachelor’s degree and higher ............................................................. Bachelor’s degree only ..................................................................... Advanced degree ............................................................................. 50,429 5,758 15,508 12,770 16,394 10,730 5,663 356 269 344 382 524 494 630 500 334 467 527 746 694 874 742 427 632 736 1,120 1,023 1,273 1,137 577 884 1,055 1,597 1,499 1,773 1,636 820 1,175 1,421 2,195 2,020 2,495 Women, 25 years and over .................................................................. Less than a high school diploma ........................................................ High school graduates, no college ..................................................... Some college or associate degree ..................................................... Bachelor’s degree and higher ............................................................. Bachelor’s degree only ..................................................................... Advanced degree ............................................................................. 39,180 2,817 11,553 11,751 13,058 8,750 4,308 293 213 276 309 433 404 549 400 268 350 407 611 577 728 585 327 480 559 830 766 969 841 423 639 759 1,162 1,057 1,348 1,207 532 839 1,011 1,572 1,475 1,812 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT 1 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group are not included. Prior to 2003, persons who reported more than one race group were included in the group they indentified as the main race. 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. Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Beginning in January 2003, 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 2002 III 2003 III 2002 III 2003 Total, 16 years and over ........................................................................... 20,850 20,907 $194 $199 Men, 16 years and over ......................................................................... 16 to 24 years ...................................................................................... 25 years and over ................................................................................ 6,597 3,285 3,312 6,428 3,295 3,134 189 158 231 189 153 241 Women, 16 years and over ................................................................... 16 to 24 years ...................................................................................... 25 years and over ................................................................................ 14,253 4,376 9,877 14,478 4,457 10,022 197 154 226 205 153 235 White1 .................................................................................................... Men ...................................................................................................... Women ................................................................................................ 17,747 5,473 12,274 17,637 5,369 12,268 196 190 198 200 190 205 Black or African American1 ................................................................... Men ...................................................................................................... Women ................................................................................................ 1,901 666 1,234 1,954 651 1,302 183 186 181 187 178 191 Asian1 .................................................................................................... Men ...................................................................................................... Women ................................................................................................ 978 351 628 807 219 588 199 187 207 227 173 251 Hispanic or Latino .................................................................................. Men ...................................................................................................... Women ................................................................................................ 2,256 841 1,415 2,365 830 1,535 186 205 176 195 200 193 SEX AND AGE RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY, AND SEX 1 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group are not included. Prior to 2003, persons who reported more than one race group were included in the group they indentified as the main race. NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Beginning in January 2003, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.