Technical information: 202) 691-6378 USDL 03-551 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 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 per- cent 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 scienti- fically 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 nonsam- pling 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 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-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 Median weekly earnings (in thousands) Characteristic In current dollars In constant (1982) dollars III III 2002 2003 III III III III 2002 2003 2002 2003 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 101,459 101,372 $603 $618 $322 $323 Men, 16 years and over................................. 57,402 57,175 671 689 358 360 16 to 24 years....................................... 7,030 6,746 376 396 201 207 25 years and over.................................... 50,373 50,429 729 742 389 388 Women, 16 years and over............................... 44,056 44,197 527 550 282 288 16 to 24 years....................................... 5,267 5,018 360 366 192 191 25 years and over.................................... 38,789 39,180 570 585 305 306 RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY, AND SEX White(1)............................................... 83,444 82,828 620 633 331 331 Men.................................................. 48,281 47,815 694 708 371 370 Women................................................ 35,162 35,012 548 569 293 297 Black or African American(1)........................... 12,288 11,984 484 509 259 266 Men.................................................. 5,901 5,654 511 568 273 297 Women................................................ 6,387 6,330 457 478 244 250 Asian(1)............................................... 4,723 4,382 665 692 355 362 Men.................................................. 2,661 2,500 757 762 404 399 Women................................................ 2,062 1,882 576 592 308 310 Hispanic or Latino..................................... 13,256 13,805 420 444 224 232 Men.................................................. 8,256 8,761 435 463 232 242 Women................................................ 4,999 5,044 401 414 214 216 1 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group only 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 Men Women Age, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Number Number Number of Median of Median of Median workers weekly workers weekly workers weekly (in earnings (in earnings (in earnings thousands) thousands) thousands) TOTAL 16 years and over......................................... 101,372 $618 57,175 $689 44,197 $550 16 to 24 years.......................................... 11,764 384 6,746 396 5,018 366 16 to 19 years........................................ 2,040 315 1,191 324 849 304 20 to 24 years........................................ 9,724 401 5,555 413 4,169 384 25 years and over....................................... 89,608 662 50,429 742 39,180 585 25 to 54 years........................................ 76,458 659 43,222 735 33,237 586 25 to 34 years...................................... 25,082 594 14,513 630 10,569 547 35 to 44 years...................................... 26,889 683 15,458 769 11,431 586 45 to 54 years...................................... 24,487 729 13,251 839 11,236 619 55 years and over..................................... 13,150 684 7,207 786 5,943 583 55 to 64 years...................................... 11,489 708 6,212 816 5,277 599 65 years and over................................... 1,661 526 995 620 666 415 White(1) 16 years and over......................................... 82,828 633 47,815 708 35,012 569 16 to 24 years.......................................... 9,800 383 5,726 397 4,074 363 25 years and over....................................... 73,028 684 42,090 766 30,938 599 25 to 54 years........................................ 61,860 681 35,891 758 25,969 600 55 years and over..................................... 11,168 704 6,199 821 4,969 590 Black or African American(1) 16 years and over......................................... 11,984 509 5,654 568 6,330 478 16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,270 381 637 389 633 373 25 years and over....................................... 10,714 529 5,018 592 5,696 497 25 to 54 years........................................ 9,454 528 4,410 591 5,043 495 55 years and over..................................... 1,260 537 607 595 653 505 Asian(1) 16 years and over......................................... 4,382 692 2,500 762 1,882 592 16 to 24 years.......................................... 399 422 231 403 168 498 25 years and over....................................... 3,984 728 2,269 807 1,715 607 25 to 54 years........................................ 3,474 731 1,988 831 1,486 599 55 years and over..................................... 510 700 281 735 228 685 Hispanic or Latino 16 years and over......................................... 13,805 $444 8,761 $463 5,044 $414 16 to 24 years.......................................... 2,098 357 1,386 358 712 355 25 years and over....................................... 11,708 477 7,376 493 4,332 431 25 to 54 years........................................ 10,747 477 6,830 490 3,917 438 55 years and over..................................... 961 477 546 522 415 386 1 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group only 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 Median weekly earnings (in thousands) Occupation and sex III III III III 2002 2003 2002 2003 TOTAL Managerial, professional, and related occupations........ 35,350 35,663 $857 $883 Management, business, and financial operations occupations............................................... 14,317 14,388 925 951 Professional and related occupations................... 21,034 21,276 816 840 Service occupations...................................... 13,959 13,996 391 400 Sales and office occupations............................. 25,567 25,199 530 544 Sales and related occupations.......................... 10,079 10,003 591 598 Office and administrative support occupations.......... 15,488 15,196 512 524 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations............................................... 10,824 11,344 591 600 Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations............. 838 783 338 398 Construction and extraction occupations................ 6,084 6,378 583 586 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations...... 3,903 4,182 660 679 Production, transportation, and material moving occupations............................................... 15,759 15,170 508 527 Production occupations................................. 9,109 8,790 503 526 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 6,650 6,380 516 529 Men Managerial, professional, and related occupations........ 17,742 17,799 1,015 1,056 Management, business, and financial operations occupations............................................... 7,984 8,070 1,067 1,112 Professional and related occupations................... 9,758 9,728 973 1,018 Service occupations...................................... 7,252 7,112 423 451 Sales and office occupations............................. 9,880 9,583 652 647 Sales and related occupations.......................... 5,848 5,653 732 728 Office and administrative support occupations.......... 4,032 3,930 577 571 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations............................................... 10,275 10,870 599 604 Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations............. 628 648 369 408 Construction and extraction occupations................ 5,921 6,224 586 587 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations...... 3,725 3,998 663 681 Production, transportation, and material moving occupations............................................... 12,254 11,811 553 579 Production occupations................................. 6,414 6,210 563 595 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 5,840 5,601 542 549 Women Managerial, professional, and related occupations........ 17,608 17,865 739 755 Management, business, and financial operations occupations............................................... 6,332 6,317 768 808 Professional and related occupations................... 11,276 11,547 723 731 Service occupations...................................... 6,706 6,883 356 361 Sales and office occupations............................. 15,687 15,616 483 501 Sales and related occupations.......................... 4,231 4,350 426 428 Office and administrative support occupations.......... 11,456 11,266 498 516 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations............................................... 549 474 397 488 Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations............. 209 135 306 327 Construction and extraction occupations................ 162 154 478 510 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations...... 178 185 573 639 Production, transportation, and material moving occupations............................................... 3,505 3,359 397 414 Production occupations................................. 2,695 2,579 401 400 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 810 780 382 477 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. 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 Number Upper limit of: of Characteristic workers (in First First Second Third Ninth thousands) decile quartile quartile quartile decile (median) SEX, RACE, AND HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY Total, 16 years and over.................................. 101,372 $300 $411 $618 $950 $1,405 Men..................................................... 57,175 321 453 689 1,073 1,562 Women................................................... 44,197 282 377 550 800 1,159 White(1)................................................ 82,828 305 420 633 975 1,444 Men................................................... 47,815 326 466 708 1,101 1,598 Women................................................. 35,012 286 384 569 817 1,184 Black or African American(1)............................ 11,984 276 360 509 736 1,073 Men................................................... 5,654 293 382 568 769 1,152 Women................................................. 6,330 259 338 478 701 992 Asian(1)................................................ 4,382 299 443 692 1,073 1,638 Men................................................... 2,500 320 489 762 1,253 1,863 Women................................................. 1,882 263 402 592 857 1,246 Hispanic or Latino...................................... 13,805 264 327 444 654 991 Men................................................... 8,761 278 344 463 681 1,074 Women................................................. 5,044 244 308 414 612 880 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Total, 25 years and over................................ 89,608 319 449 662 1,001 1,469 Less than a high school diploma....................... 8,575 241 303 397 518 731 High school graduates, no college..................... 27,060 302 403 563 777 1,074 Some college or associate degree...................... 24,521 337 460 634 914 1,258 Bachelor's degree and higher.......................... 29,452 478 671 958 1,410 1,914 Bachelor's degree only.............................. 19,480 444 624 892 1,303 1,861 Advanced degree..................................... 9,972 593 775 1,132 1,587 2,201 Men, 25 years and over................................ 50,429 356 500 742 1,137 1,636 Less than a high school diploma..................... 5,758 269 334 427 577 820 High school graduates, no college................... 15,508 344 467 632 884 1,175 Some college or associate degree.................... 12,770 382 527 736 1,055 1,421 Bachelor's degree and higher........................ 16,394 524 746 1,120 1,597 2,195 Bachelor's degree only............................ 10,730 494 694 1,023 1,499 2,020 Advanced degree................................... 5,663 630 874 1,273 1,773 2,495 Women, 25 years and over.............................. 39,180 293 400 585 841 1,207 Less than a high school diploma..................... 2,817 213 268 327 423 532 High school graduates, no college................... 11,553 276 350 480 639 839 Some college or associate degree.................... 11,751 309 407 559 759 1,011 Bachelor's degree and higher........................ 13,058 433 611 830 1,162 1,572 Bachelor's degree only............................ 8,750 404 577 766 1,057 1,475 Advanced degree................................... 4,308 549 728 969 1,348 1,812 1 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group only 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 Median weekly earnings (in thousands) Characteristic III III III III 2002 2003 2002 2003 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 20,850 20,907 $194 $199 Men, 16 years and over................................. 6,597 6,428 189 189 16 to 24 years....................................... 3,285 3,295 158 153 25 years and over.................................... 3,312 3,134 231 241 Women, 16 years and over............................... 14,253 14,478 197 205 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,376 4,457 154 153 25 years and over.................................... 9,877 10,022 226 235 RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY, AND SEX White(1)............................................... 17,747 17,637 196 200 Men.................................................. 5,473 5,369 190 190 Women................................................ 12,274 12,268 198 205 Black or African American(1)........................... 1,901 1,954 183 187 Men.................................................. 666 651 186 178 Women................................................ 1,234 1,302 181 191 Asian(1)............................................... 978 807 199 227 Men.................................................. 351 219 187 173 Women................................................ 628 588 207 251 Hispanic or Latino..................................... 2,256 2,365 186 195 Men.................................................. 841 830 205 200 Women................................................ 1,415 1,535 176 193 1 Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more than one race group only 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.