TEXT Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, quarterly averages, Table 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, first Table 3. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by occupation and sex, quarterly averages, not Table 4. Quartiles and selected deciles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected Table 5. Median usual weekly earnings of part-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, quarterly averages, Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 96-149 606-6373 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 606-5902 Friday, April 19, 1996 USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: FIRST QUARTER 1996 Median weekly earnings of the nation's 88.7 million full-time wage and salary workers were $489 in the first quarter of 1996, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 2.3 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 2.7 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) over the same period. Data on usual earnings are collected as part of the Current Population Survey, a nationwide sample survey of households in which respondents are asked, among other things, how much each wage and salary worker usually earns. (See explanatory note.) Highlights from the first-quarter data are: ---Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $419 a week, or 75.2 percent of the $557 median for men. The female-male earnings' ratios were much higher among blacks (89.2 percent) and Hispanics (91.6 percent) than among whites (73.6 percent). (See table 1.) ---Median earnings of black men working full-time were $417 per week, 71.9 percent of the median for white men ($580). The racial variation was much less among women, as black women's median earnings ($372) were 87.1 percent of those for their white counterparts ($427). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($330) were lower than those of blacks ($394) and whites ($504). (See table 1.) ---The highest median weekly earnings for men were in the 45- to 54-year- age group ($699), with the median for 35- to 44-year-old men next, at $629. Among women, the highest-earning age group also was 45- to 54-year-olds, who had a median of $477; this was followed closely by 35- to 44-year-olds, with a median of $457. (See table 2.) ---Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in managerial and professional specialty occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$846 for men and $612 for women--while men and women in service and farm jobs earned the least. (See table 3.) ---Full-time workers age 25 and over with less than a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of $311, compared with $435 for high school graduates (no college) and $754 for college graduates. Among college graduates with advanced degrees (master's degree and above), the highest-earning 10 percent of men earned more than $1,924, compared with more than $1,336 for their female counterparts. (See table 4.) - 2 - Explanatory Note The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides the basic information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. The survey is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the Bureau of the Census from a scientifically selected national sample of about 50,000 households, with coverage in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The earnings data are collected from one-quarter of the CPS monthly sample and are limited to wages and salaries. The data, therefore, exclude self-employment income. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577. Reliability In any sample survey, variations in the data can occur by chance because a sample, rather than the whole of the population, is surveyed. The standard error is a measure of such potential variation. The chances are about 68 out of 100 that an estimate from the survey differs from a figure that would be obtained from a complete census by less than one standard error. The chances are about 90 out of 100 that such a difference would be less than 1.6 standard errors. All statements of comparisons in the text of this release are significant at 1.6 or more standard errors. For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" section of the February 1994 and subsequent issues of Employment and Earnings. Definitions The principal definitions used in connection with the earnings series are described briefly below. Usual weekly earnings. Data represent earnings before taxes and other deductions and include any overtime pay, taxes, commissions, or tips usually received (at the main job in the case of multiple jobholders.) Prior to 1994, respondents were asked how much they usually earned per week. Since January 1994, respondents have been asked to identify the easiest way for them to report earnings (hourly, weekly, biweekly, twice monthly, monthly, annually, other) and how much they usually earn in the reported time period. Earnings reported on a basis other than weekly are converted to a weekly equivalent. The term "usual" is as perceived by the respondent. If the respondent asks for a definition of usual, interviewers are instructed to define the term as more than half the weeks worked during the past 4 or 5 months. Medians (and other quantiles) of weekly earnings. The median (or upper limit of the second quartile) is the amount which divides a given earnings distribution into two equal groups, one having earnings above the median and the other having earnings below the median. Ten percent of a given distribution have earnings below the upper limit of the first decile (90 percent have higher earnings); 25 percent have earnings below the upper - 3 - limit of the first quartile (75 percent have higher earnings); 75 percent have earnings below the upper limit of the third quartile (25 percent have higher earnings); and 90 percent have earnings below the upper limit of the ninth decile (10 percent have higher earnings). The estimating procedure places each reported or calculated weekly earnings value into $50-wide intervals which are centered around multiples of $50. The actual value is estimated through the linear interpolation of the interval in which the quantile boundary lies. Over-the-year changes in the medians (and other quantile boundaries) for specific groups may not necessarily be consistent with the movements estimated for the overall quantile boundary. The most common reasons for this possible anomaly are: (1) There could be a change in the relative weights of the subgroups. For example, the medians of both 16-to-24 year olds and those 25 years and over may rise; but if the lower-earning 16-to- 24 group accounts for a greatly increased share of the total, the overall median could actually fall. (2) There could be a large change in the shape of the distribution of reported earnings, particularly near a quantile boundary. This could be caused by survey observations that are clustered at rounded values, e.g., $250, $300, $400. An estimate lying in a $50-wide centered interval containing such a cluster or "spike" tends to change more slowly than one in other intervals. Wage and salary workers. Workers who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates. The group includes employees in both the private and public sectors but, for the purposes of the earnings series, excludes self-employed persons whose businesses are incorporated. Full-time workers. Workers who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job. Part-time workers. Workers who usually work fewer than 35 hours per week at their sole or principal job. Constant dollars. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is used to convert current dollars to constant (1982) dollars. Hispanic origin. Refers to persons who are of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or of other Hispanic origin or descent. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race; hence, they are included in the numbers for the white and black populations. Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | Number of workers | Median weekly earnings | (in thousands) | | | _____________________ ___________________________________________ | | | | | | | In current dollars | In constant (1982) Characteristic | | | | dollars | I | I | | _____________________ _____________________ | 1995 | 1996 | | | | | | | I | I | I | I | | | 1995 | 1996 | 1995 | 1996 | | | | | | ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | | | SEX AND AGE | | | | | | | | | | | | Total, 16 years and over..................................| 87,336 | 88,699 | $478 | $489 | $306 | $304 | | | | | | Men, 16 years and over.................................| 50,070 | 50,388 | 535 | 557 | 342 | 347 16 to 24 years.......................................| 5,639 | 5,448 | 302 | 311 | 193 | 193 25 years and over....................................| 44,431 | 44,940 | 585 | 597 | 374 | 372 | | | | | | Women, 16 years and over...............................| 37,266 | 38,312 | 406 | 419 | 260 | 261 16 to 24 years.......................................| 4,023 | 4,059 | 281 | 289 | 180 | 180 25 years and over....................................| 33,243 | 34,253 | 424 | 442 | 271 | 276 | | | | | | RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX | | | | | | | | | | | | White..................................................| 73,299 | 74,423 | 494 | 504 | 316 | 314 Men..................................................| 42,744 | 43,177 | 565 | 580 | 361 | 361 Women................................................| 30,555 | 31,247 | 416 | 427 | 266 | 266 | | | | | | Black..................................................| 10,369 | 10,534 | 373 | 394 | 239 | 245 Men..................................................| 5,226 | 5,199 | 401 | 417 | 256 | 260 Women................................................| 5,142 | 5,335 | 343 | 372 | 219 | 232 | | | | | | Hispanic origin........................................| 8,305 | 8,599 | 330 | 330 | 211 | 205 Men..................................................| 5,339 | 5,495 | 349 | 344 | 223 | 214 Women................................................| 2,966 | 3,104 | 308 | 315 | 197 | 196 | | | | | | ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Publication of data on family relationship has been temporarily suspended due to editing and weighting problems associated with the redesigned survey. Table 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, first quarter 1996 averages, not seasonally adjusted ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | Total | Men | Women | | | _____________________ _____________________ _____________________ | | | | | | | Number | | Number | | Number | Age, race, and Hispanic origin | of | Median | of | Median | of | Median | workers | weekly | workers | weekly | workers | weekly | (in | earnings | (in | earnings | (in | earnings |thousands)| |thousands)| |thousands)| | | | | | | ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | | | TOTAL | | | | | | | | | | | | 16 years and over.........................................| 88,699 | $489 | 50,388 | $557 | 38,312 | $419 16 to 24 years..........................................| 9,507 | 301 | 5,448 | 311 | 4,059 | 289 16 to 19 years........................................| 1,453 | 248 | 916 | 262 | 537 | 222 20 to 24 years........................................| 8,054 | 311 | 4,531 | 321 | 3,522 | 299 25 years and over.......................................| 79,193 | 518 | 44,940 | 597 | 34,253 | 442 25 to 54 years........................................| 70,417 | 519 | 39,921 | 595 | 30,496 | 447 25 to 34 years......................................| 25,507 | 461 | 14,717 | 495 | 10,790 | 419 35 to 44 years......................................| 26,183 | 559 | 14,986 | 629 | 11,197 | 457 45 to 54 years......................................| 18,727 | 591 | 10,218 | 699 | 8,509 | 477 55 years and over.....................................| 8,776 | 511 | 5,019 | 618 | 3,757 | 408 55 to 64 years......................................| 7,732 | 523 | 4,395 | 625 | 3,336 | 417 65 years and over...................................| 1,044 | 394 | 624 | 520 | 420 | 326 | | | | | | White | | | | | | | | | | | | 16 years and over.........................................| 74,423 | 504 | 43,177 | 580 | 31,247 | 427 16 to 24 years..........................................| 8,012 | 303 | 4,642 | 312 | 3,370 | 290 25 years and over.......................................| 66,411 | 540 | 38,535 | 614 | 27,877 | 453 25 to 54 years........................................| 58,807 | 541 | 34,156 | 611 | 24,651 | 457 55 years and over.....................................| 7,604 | 529 | 4,379 | 649 | 3,226 | 418 | | | | | | Black | | | | | | | | | | | | 16 years and over.........................................| 10,534 | 394 | 5,199 | 417 | 5,335 | 372 16 to 24 years..........................................| 1,105 | 282 | 582 | 286 | 523 | 279 25 years and over.......................................| 9,430 | 415 | 4,617 | 447 | 4,813 | 390 25 to 54 years........................................| 8,591 | 416 | 4,196 | 446 | 4,395 | 393 55 years and over.....................................| 839 | 405 | 421 | 461 | 418 | 358 | | | | | | Hispanic origin | | | | | | | | | | | | 16 years and over.........................................| 8,599 | 330 | 5,495 | 344 | 3,104 | 315 16 to 24 years..........................................| 1,344 | 269 | 898 | 266 | 446 | 276 25 years and over.......................................| 7,256 | 359 | 4,598 | 379 | 2,658 | 326 25 to 54 years........................................| 6,615 | 358 | 4,212 | 379 | 2,403 | 323 55 years and over.....................................| 641 | 361 | 386 | 380 | 255 | 349 | | | | | | ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Table 3. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by occupation and sex, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | Number of workers | Median weekly earnings | (in thousands) | Occupation and sex | | _____________________________ _____________________________ | | | | | I | I | I | I | 1995 | 1996 | 1995 | 1996 | | | | ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | TOTAL | | | | | | | | Managerial and professional specialty.........................| 25,748 | 27,002 | $694 | $713 Executive, administrative, and managerial...................| 12,723 | 12,884 | 673 | 696 Professional specialty......................................| 13,025 | 14,118 | 712 | 724 Technical, sales, and administrative support..................| 25,501 | 25,453 | 425 | 438 Technicians and related support.............................| 3,079 | 3,045 | 550 | 576 Sales occupations...........................................| 8,651 | 8,917 | 459 | 481 Administrative support, including clerical..................| 13,771 | 13,491 | 399 | 399 Service occupations...........................................| 9,347 | 9,247 | 296 | 302 Private household...........................................| 375 | 371 | 204 | 198 Protective service..........................................| 1,897 | 1,865 | 511 | 522 Service, except private household and protective............| 7,076 | 7,010 | 276 | 282 Precision production, craft, and repair.......................| 10,862 | 10,862 | 524 | 546 Mechanics and repairers.....................................| 3,711 | 3,881 | 535 | 573 Construction trades.........................................| 3,435 | 3,390 | 514 | 523 Other precision production, craft, and repair...............| 3,716 | 3,591 | 529 | 531 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..........................| 14,650 | 14,879 | 378 | 381 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors...............| 7,008 | 7,151 | 363 | 374 Transportation and material moving occupations..............| 4,077 | 4,225 | 478 | 455 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.........| 3,564 | 3,502 | 317 | 320 Farming, forestry, and fishing................................| 1,228 | 1,257 | 286 | 297 | | | | Men | | | | | | | | Managerial and professional specialty.........................| 13,404 | 13,669 | 819 | 846 Executive, administrative, and managerial...................| 6,963 | 6,929 | 829 | 843 Professional specialty......................................| 6,441 | 6,740 | 809 | 849 Technical, sales, and administrative support..................| 9,846 | 9,622 | 534 | 580 Technicians and related support.............................| 1,594 | 1,559 | 639 | 659 Sales occupations...........................................| 4,874 | 5,081 | 569 | 611 Administrative support, including clerical..................| 3,378 | 2,982 | 477 | 469 Service occupations...........................................| 4,559 | 4,554 | 346 | 355 Private household...........................................| 8 | 11 | (1) | (1) Protective service..........................................| 1,607 | 1,605 | 512 | 554 Service, except private household and protective............| 2,944 | 2,938 | 295 | 300 Precision production, craft, and repair.......................| 9,864 | 9,945 | 542 | 564 Mechanics and repairers.....................................| 3,551 | 3,732 | 535 | 575 Construction trades.........................................| 3,364 | 3,344 | 513 | 523 Other precision production, craft, and repair...............| 2,950 | 2,869 | 584 | 584 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..........................| 11,309 | 11,482 | 410 | 409 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors...............| 4,494 | 4,637 | 411 | 419 Transportation and material moving occupations..............| 3,801 | 3,963 | 485 | 463 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.........| 3,014 | 2,882 | 332 | 329 Farming, forestry, and fishing................................| 1,088 | 1,115 | 293 | 303 | | | | Women | | | | | | | | Managerial and professional specialty.........................| 12,344 | 13,333 | 601 | 612 Executive, administrative, and managerial...................| 5,760 | 5,955 | 551 | 581 Professional specialty......................................| 6,584 | 7,378 | 636 | 641 Technical, sales, and administrative support..................| 15,655 | 15,832 | 386 | 391 Technicians and related support.............................| 1,485 | 1,487 | 480 | 501 Sales occupations...........................................| 3,777 | 3,836 | 345 | 361 Administrative support, including clerical..................| 10,393 | 10,509 | 384 | 384 Service occupations...........................................| 4,789 | 4,693 | 266 | 269 Private household...........................................| 367 | 361 | 202 | 198 Protective service..........................................| 290 | 260 | 503 | 427 Service, except private household and protective............| 4,132 | 4,072 | 265 | 269 Precision production, craft, and repair.......................| 997 | 916 | 396 | 393 Mechanics and repairers.....................................| 160 | 148 | 543 | 540 Construction trades.........................................| 71 | 46 | (1) | (1) Other precision production, craft, and repair...............| 766 | 722 | 361 | 369 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..........................| 3,341 | 3,396 | 294 | 308 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors...............| 2,514 | 2,514 | 296 | 308 Transportation and material moving occupations..............| 277 | 262 | 362 | 350 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.........| 550 | 621 | 264 | 294 Farming, forestry, and fishing................................| 140 | 141 | 238 | 266 | | | | ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1/ Data not shown where base is less than 100,000. Table 4. Quartiles and selected deciles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, first quarter 1996 averages, not seasonally adjusted ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | Number | Upper limit of: | of | ______________________________________________________ | workers | | | | | Characteristic | (in | First | First | Second | Third | Ninth |thousands)| decile | quartile | quartile | quartile | decile | | | | (median) | | | | | | | | ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | | | SEX, RACE, AND HISPANIC ORIGIN | | | | | | | | | | | | Total, 16 years and over..........................| 88,699 | $233 | $318 | $489 | $738 | $1,050 Men.............................................| 50,388 | 253 | 358 | 557 | 824 | 1,171 Women...........................................| 38,312 | 215 | 291 | 419 | 619 | 871 | | | | | | White...........................................| 74,423 | 238 | 327 | 504 | 758 | 1,088 Men...........................................| 43,177 | 260 | 374 | 580 | 853 | 1,209 Women.........................................| 31,247 | 218 | 296 | 427 | 632 | 887 | | | | | | Black...........................................| 10,534 | 205 | 280 | 394 | 582 | 793 Men...........................................| 5,199 | 210 | 292 | 417 | 615 | 851 Women.........................................| 5,335 | 202 | 267 | 372 | 532 | 724 | | | | | | Hispanic........................................| 8,599 | 189 | 245 | 330 | 519 | 784 Men...........................................| 5,495 | 195 | 253 | 344 | 556 | 826 Women.........................................| 3,104 | 182 | 232 | 315 | 466 | 674 | | | | | | EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT | | | | | | | | | | | | Total, 25 years and over........................| 79,193 | 248 | 344 | 518 | 767 | 1,097 Less than a high school diploma...............| 7,826 | 184 | 235 | 311 | 447 | 620 High school graduates, no college.............| 25,759 | 233 | 309 | 435 | 623 | 832 Some college or associate degree..............| 22,032 | 268 | 362 | 512 | 720 | 965 College graduates, total......................| 23,576 | 377 | 530 | 754 | 1,072 | 1,526 Bachelor's degree only......................| 15,602 | 347 | 493 | 701 | 974 | 1,394 Advanced degree.............................| 7,974 | 449 | 630 | 896 | 1,240 | 1,761 | | | | | | Men, 25 years and over........................| 44,940 | 277 | 394 | 597 | 869 | 1,220 Less than a high school diploma.............| 5,053 | 196 | 256 | 343 | 502 | 677 High school graduates, no college...........| 14,693 | 273 | 360 | 509 | 710 | 916 Some college or associate degree............| 11,981 | 299 | 421 | 600 | 817 | 1,077 College graduates, total....................| 13,214 | 408 | 600 | 868 | 1,221 | 1,758 Bachelor's degree only....................| 8,524 | 385 | 557 | 795 | 1,127 | 1,577 Advanced degree...........................| 4,689 | 473 | 699 | 997 | 1,432 | 1,924 | | | | | | Women, 25 years and over......................| 34,253 | 226 | 305 | 442 | 643 | 898 Less than a high school diploma.............| 2,773 | 169 | 208 | 268 | 357 | 480 High school graduates, no college...........| 11,066 | 209 | 275 | 363 | 492 | 657 Some college or associate degree............| 10,051 | 240 | 316 | 433 | 599 | 773 College graduates, total....................| 10,362 | 340 | 480 | 655 | 893 | 1,160 Bachelor's degree only....................| 7,077 | 317 | 447 | 613 | 816 | 1,088 Advanced degree...........................| 3,285 | 432 | 582 | 768 | 1,012 | 1,336 | | | | | | ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Ten percent of all full-time wage and salary workers earn less than the upper limit of the first decile; 25 percent earn less than the upper limit of the first quartile; 50 percent earn less than the upper limit of the second quartile, or median; 75 percent earn less than the upper limit of the third quartile; and 90 percent earn less than the upper limit of the ninth decile. Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Table 5. Median usual weekly earnings of part-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, quarterly averages, not seasonally adjusted ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | Number of workers | Median weekly earnings | (in thousands) | | | _____________________________ _____________________________ Characteristic | | | | | I | I | I | I | 1995 | 1996 | 1995 | 1996 | | | | ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | | | SEX AND AGE | | | | | | | | Total, 16 years and over........................................| 20,945 | 21,047 | $136 | $139 | | | | Men, 16 years and over.......................................| 6,512 | 6,586 | 124 | 132 16 to 24 years.............................................| 3,411 | 3,416 | 103 | 107 25 years and over..........................................| 3,101 | 3,170 | 168 | 173 | | | | Women, 16 years and over.....................................| 14,433 | 14,461 | 141 | 142 16 to 24 years.............................................| 4,460 | 4,225 | 103 | 103 25 years and over..........................................| 9,973 | 10,237 | 164 | 165 | | | | RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX | | | | | | | | White........................................................| 17,934 | 18,215 | 136 | 141 Men........................................................| 5,421 | 5,646 | 122 | 132 Women......................................................| 12,512 | 12,569 | 143 | 144 | | | | Black........................................................| 2,132 | 1,995 | 132 | 128 Men........................................................| 766 | 626 | 142 | 124 Women......................................................| 1,366 | 1,369 | 126 | 129 | | | | Hispanic origin..............................................| 1,759 | 1,773 | 135 | 139 Men........................................................| 641 | 672 | 139 | 141 Women......................................................| 1,118 | 1,101 | 133 | 138 | | | | ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Publication of data on family relationship has been temporarily suspended due to editing and weighting problems associated with the redesigned survey.