Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov:80/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 97-374 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 606-5902 Wednesday, October 22, 1997 USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: THIRD QUARTER 1997 Median weekly earnings of the nation's 95.8 million full-time wage and salary workers were $499 in the third quarter of 1997, 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 2.1 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 third-quarter data are: ---Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $429 a week, or 74.9 percent of the $573 median for men. The female-to-male earnings ratios were higher among blacks (89.5 percent) and Hispanics (85.5 percent) than among whites (74.5 percent). (See table 1.) ---Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $420 per week, 70.9 percent of the median for white men ($592). The difference was much less among women, as black women's median earnings ($376) were 85.3 percent of those for their white counterparts ($441). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($352) were lower than those of blacks ($397) and whites ($515). (See table 1.) ---The highest median weekly earnings for full-time workers were $718 for men in the 45- to 54-year-age group; second highest was the median for 55- to 64-year-old men at $672. Among women, the highest-earning age group also was 45- to 54-year olds, with a median of $489, followed by 35- to 44- year-olds, with a median of $484. (See table 2.) ---Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in managerial and professional specialty occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$864 for men and $610 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 $318, compared with $464 for high school graduates (no college) and $781 for college graduates. Among college graduates with advanced degrees (professional or master's degree and above), the highest 10 percent of male workers earned more than $1,991, compared with more than $1,467 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 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 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. - 2 - Full-time workers. Workers who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job. Part-time workers. Workers who usually work fewer than 35 hours per week at their sole or principal job. Constant dollars. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is used to convert current dollars to constant (1982) dollars. Hispanic origin. Refers to persons who are of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or 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) Characteristic In current dollars In constant (1982) dollars III III 1996 1997 III III III III 1996 1997 1996 1997 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 92,703 95,837 $488 $499 $299 $300 Men, 16 years and over................................. 53,000 54,491 552 573 338 344 16 to 24 years....................................... 6,694 7,009 305 312 187 187 25 years and over.................................... 46,305 47,483 600 614 368 368 Women, 16 years and over............................... 39,703 41,346 415 429 254 258 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,756 5,129 280 291 172 174 25 years and over.................................... 34,947 36,217 443 463 272 278 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 77,704 79,853 502 515 308 309 Men.................................................. 45,442 46,434 577 592 354 355 Women................................................ 32,262 33,419 423 441 260 265 Black.................................................. 11,060 11,691 383 397 235 238 Men.................................................. 5,402 5,640 405 420 248 252 Women................................................ 5,657 6,051 363 376 222 225 Hispanic origin........................................ 9,460 10,279 346 352 212 211 Men.................................................. 6,127 6,569 364 373 223 224 Women................................................ 3,333 3,710 322 319 197 191 NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. Table 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, third quarter 1997 averages, not seasonally adjusted Total Men Women Age, race, and Hispanic origin 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......................................... 95,837 $499 54,491 $573 41,346 $429 16 to 24 years.......................................... 12,138 302 7,009 312 5,129 291 16 to 19 years........................................ 2,802 252 1,649 260 1,154 243 20 to 24 years........................................ 9,335 320 5,360 336 3,975 307 25 years and over....................................... 83,699 542 47,483 614 36,217 463 25 to 54 years........................................ 74,378 542 42,167 611 32,210 466 25 to 34 years...................................... 26,145 481 15,093 515 11,051 431 35 to 44 years...................................... 28,104 582 16,090 649 12,015 484 45 to 54 years...................................... 20,129 606 10,984 718 9,144 489 55 years and over..................................... 9,322 539 5,315 653 4,006 440 55 to 64 years...................................... 8,164 561 4,595 672 3,569 455 65 years and over................................... 1,157 397 720 490 437 354 White 16 years and over......................................... 79,853 515 46,434 592 33,419 441 16 to 24 years.......................................... 10,277 306 6,113 316 4,164 292 25 years and over....................................... 69,576 572 40,321 637 29,255 476 25 to 54 years........................................ 61,501 573 35,669 633 25,832 479 55 years and over..................................... 8,075 561 4,651 681 3,424 446 Black 16 years and over......................................... 11,691 397 5,640 420 6,051 376 16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,373 275 644 275 728 276 25 years and over....................................... 10,319 419 4,996 458 5,323 397 25 to 54 years........................................ 9,395 417 4,539 453 4,856 397 55 years and over..................................... 924 442 456 499 467 387 Hispanic origin 16 years and over......................................... 10,279 352 6,569 373 3,710 319 16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,769 281 1,240 289 529 261 25 years and over....................................... 8,510 381 5,329 403 3,181 336 25 to 54 years........................................ 7,839 381 4,883 402 2,955 339 55 years and over..................................... 672 376 446 415 226 302 NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Beginning in January 1997, 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 1996 1997 1996 1997 TOTAL Managerial and professional specialty.................... 27,291 28,075 $710 $732 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 13,761 14,096 683 731 Professional specialty................................. 13,530 13,979 731 733 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 26,512 27,477 442 455 Technicians and related support........................ 3,290 3,533 557 570 Sales occupations...................................... 9,341 9,773 464 474 Administrative support, including clerical............. 13,882 14,170 410 424 Service occupations...................................... 10,484 10,719 302 312 Private household...................................... 393 312 211 191 Protective service..................................... 1,947 2,168 577 539 Service, except private household and protective....... 8,145 8,238 282 295 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 11,271 11,827 545 560 Mechanics and repairers................................ 3,826 4,061 583 590 Construction trades.................................... 3,833 4,045 520 529 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 3,613 3,721 518 551 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 15,495 15,976 387 398 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 7,172 7,378 371 390 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 4,384 4,400 471 499 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 3,939 4,198 331 323 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,649 1,763 295 302 Men Managerial and professional specialty.................... 14,060 14,261 837 852 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 7,476 7,546 823 864 Professional specialty................................. 6,585 6,715 853 838 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 10,270 10,390 548 578 Technicians and related support........................ 1,779 1,755 636 640 Sales occupations...................................... 5,245 5,299 569 590 Administrative support, including clerical............. 3,246 3,336 495 520 Service occupations...................................... 5,326 5,326 347 377 Private household...................................... 24 18 (1) (1) Protective service..................................... 1,678 1,849 $592 $565 Service, except private household and protective....... 3,623 3,459 300 317 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 10,207 10,745 574 579 Mechanics and repairers................................ 3,646 3,860 584 593 Construction trades.................................... 3,750 3,956 523 530 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 2,811 2,928 593 602 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 11,669 12,245 424 432 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 4,369 4,703 $429 $446 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 4,102 4,136 486 506 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 3,198 3,406 342 335 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,468 1,525 304 312 Women Managerial and professional specialty.................... 13,231 13,815 614 632 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 6,286 6,550 575 610 Professional specialty................................. 6,945 7,264 653 658 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 16,242 17,087 398 409 Technicians and related support........................ 1,511 1,778 491 501 Sales occupations...................................... 4,095 4,474 358 354 Administrative support, including clerical............. 10,636 10,835 395 409 Service occupations...................................... 5,159 5,392 270 278 Private household...................................... 368 294 213 185 Protective service..................................... 269 319 420 417 Service, except private household and protective....... 4,521 4,780 270 279 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 1,065 1,082 362 391 Mechanics and repairers................................ 180 201 562 542 Construction trades.................................... 83 89 (1) (1) Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 802 792 $346 $355 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 3,826 3,731 308 310 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 2,803 2,675 308 311 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 282 264 324 351 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 741 792 304 300 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 181 239 242 264 1 Data not shown where base is less than 100,000. Beginning in January 1997, 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 1997 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 ORIGIN Total, 16 years and over.................................. 95,837 $240 $323 $499 $757 $1,098 Men..................................................... 54,491 261 365 573 848 1,212 Women................................................... 41,346 223 296 429 638 905 White................................................... 79,853 245 335 515 777 1,129 Men................................................... 46,434 270 381 592 876 1,245 Women................................................. 33,419 226 302 441 649 922 Black................................................... 11,691 214 282 397 596 830 Men................................................... 5,640 224 297 420 621 873 Women................................................. 6,051 206 267 376 549 778 Hispanic................................................ 10,279 203 259 352 529 792 Men................................................... 6,569 213 274 373 577 854 Women................................................. 3,710 192 240 319 480 682 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Total, 25 years and over................................ 83,699 259 360 542 802 1,145 Less than a high school diploma....................... 8,590 191 243 318 451 626 High school graduates, no college..................... 27,795 247 324 464 655 889 Some college or associate degree...................... 23,139 278 381 536 755 998 College graduates, total.............................. 24,174 387 570 781 1,135 1,543 Bachelor's degree only.............................. 16,255 362 512 734 1,040 1,423 Advanced degree..................................... 7,919 475 656 918 1,305 1,870 Men, 25 years and over................................ 47,483 288 406 614 900 1,267 Less than a high school diploma..................... 5,590 209 275 363 502 701 High school graduates, no college................... 15,871 287 385 541 753 996 Some college or associate degree.................... 12,396 304 432 619 851 1,114 College graduates, total............................ 13,625 417 620 894 1,275 1,751 Bachelor's degree only............................ 9,065 394 594 829 1,169 1,564 Advanced degree................................... 4,561 507 711 1,039 1,446 1,991 Women, 25 years and over.............................. 36,217 234 315 463 672 938 Less than a high school diploma..................... 3,001 176 210 268 346 464 High school graduates, no college................... 11,924 221 285 380 514 685 Some college or associate degree.................... 10,743 253 337 468 633 832 College graduates, total............................ 10,549 362 496 686 940 1,237 Bachelor's degree only............................ 7,190 $333 $460 $626 $871 $1,156 Advanced degree................................... 3,359 455 614 805 1,066 1,467 NOTE: Ten percent of all full-time wage and salary workers earn less than the upper limit of the first decile; 25 percent earn less than the upper limit of the first quartile; 50 percent earn less than the upper limit of the second quartile, or median; 75 percent earn less than the upper limit of the third quartile; and 90 percent earn less than the upper limit of the ninth decile. Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Beginning in January 1997, 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) Age, race, and Hispanic origin III III III III 1996 1997 1996 1997 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 20,045 19,482 $150 $156 Men, 16 years and over................................. 6,264 5,976 141 148 16 to 24 years....................................... 3,302 3,248 118 127 25 years and over.................................... 2,962 2,728 182 188 Women, 16 years and over............................... 13,781 13,505 155 159 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,279 4,086 116 121 25 years and over.................................... 9,502 9,419 182 185 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 17,226 16,749 152 157 Men.................................................. 5,194 4,933 143 149 Women................................................ 12,032 11,817 157 161 Black.................................................. 1,968 1,924 138 146 Men.................................................. 733 726 131 150 Women................................................ 1,235 1,198 142 144 Hispanic origin........................................ 1,564 1,794 143 141 Men.................................................. 530 651 158 145 Women................................................ 1,034 1,143 138 139 NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Beginning in January 1997, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.