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Growth in inflation-adjusted earnings, 1979-2004

November 01, 2005

Growth in earnings for white women has outpaced that for their black and Hispanic or Latino counterparts over the past 25 years.

Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers in constant (2004) dollars by sex, race and Hispanic origin, 1979 and 2004 annual averages
[Chart data—TXT]

Between 1979 and 2004, inflation-adjusted weekly earnings for white women grew fairly steadily, from $444 to $584 (32 percent). Earnings over the period grew from $408 to $505 (24 percent) for black women and from $379 to $419 (11 percent) for Hispanic or Latino women.

In contrast, real earnings for white and for black men rose only slightly, while those for Hispanic or Latino men fell by 9 percent.

These data on earnings are produced by the Current Population Survey. Earnings data in this article are median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers. The Consumer Price Index research series using current methods (CPI-U-RS) was used for the inflation adjustment; the inflation-adjusted earnings are in 2004 dollars. For more information see "Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2004," BLS Report 987 (PDF 196K).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Growth in inflation-adjusted earnings, 1979-2004 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2005/oct/wk5/art02.htm (visited March 19, 2024).

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