Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 98-148 For release:10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 606-5902 Monday, April 20, 1998 USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: FIRST QUARTER 1998 Median weekly earnings of the nation's 93.2 million full-time wage and salary workers were $521 in the first quarter of 1998, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 3.4 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 1.5 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.) Major findings from the first-quarter data follow. --Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $455 a week, or 76.3 percent of the $596 median for men. The female-to-male earnings ratios were higher among blacks (87.4 percent) and Hispanics (86.6 percent) than among whites. (See table 1.) --Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $452 per week, 74.0 percent of the median for white men ($611). The difference was much less among women, as black women's median earnings ($395) were 84.6 percent of those for their white counterparts ($467). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($364) were lower than those of blacks ($418) and whites ($543). (See table 1.) --The highest median weekly earnings for full-time workers were $731 for men in the 45- to 54-year-age group; second highest was the median for 55- to 64-year-old men at $707. Among women, the highest-earning age group also was 45- to 54-year olds, who had a median of $515, followed by 35- to 44-year-olds, with a median of $497. (See table 2.) --Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in managerial and professional specialty occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$865 for men and $647 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 $326, compared with $469 for high school graduates (no college) and $802 for college graduates. Among college graduates with advanced degrees (professional or master's degree and above), the highest 10 percent of male workers earned $2,118 or more, compared with $1,537 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 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 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 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, 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. - 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 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 I I 1997 1998 I I I I 1997 1998 1997 1998 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 90,734 93,183 $504 $521 $304 $310 Men, 16 years and over................................. 51,604 52,791 582 596 352 355 16 to 24 years....................................... 5,409 5,560 319 337 193 201 25 years and over.................................... 46,195 47,230 615 629 372 375 Women, 16 years and over............................... 39,129 40,392 427 455 258 271 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,084 4,110 289 304 175 181 25 years and over.................................... 35,045 36,283 456 480 276 286 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 75,743 77,526 519 543 314 323 Men.................................................. 44,009 44,840 599 611 362 364 Women................................................ 31,734 32,686 440 467 266 278 Black.................................................. 10,879 11,383 399 418 241 249 Men.................................................. 5,340 5,579 426 452 258 269 Women................................................ 5,539 5,803 372 395 225 235 Hispanic origin........................................ 9,623 10,183 349 364 211 217 Men.................................................. 6,145 6,475 369 381 223 227 Women................................................ 3,478 3,707 316 330 191 197 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 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and 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, first quarter 1998 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......................................... 93,183 $521 52,791 $596 40,392 $455 16 to 24 years.......................................... 9,670 320 5,560 337 4,110 304 16 to 19 years........................................ 1,634 265 960 287 674 239 20 to 24 years........................................ 8,036 336 4,600 355 3,436 317 25 years and over....................................... 83,513 563 47,230 629 36,283 480 25 to 54 years........................................ 73,940 563 41,793 623 32,147 484 25 to 34 years...................................... 25,355 495 14,570 531 10,784 446 35 to 44 years...................................... 27,706 590 15,885 663 11,821 497 45 to 54 years...................................... 20,880 618 11,338 731 9,542 515 55 years and over..................................... 9,573 564 5,437 688 4,136 444 55 to 64 years...................................... 8,463 579 4,790 707 3,674 454 65 years and over................................... 1,109 433 647 524 462 344 White 16 years and over......................................... 77,526 543 44,840 611 32,686 467 16 to 24 years.......................................... 8,171 323 4,768 342 3,403 306 25 years and over....................................... 69,355 583 40,072 651 29,283 491 25 to 54 years........................................ 61,085 583 35,363 644 25,721 496 55 years and over..................................... 8,271 583 4,709 721 3,562 450 Black 16 years and over......................................... 11,383 418 5,579 452 5,803 395 16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,118 301 560 304 558 296 25 years and over....................................... 10,265 439 5,020 480 5,245 412 25 to 54 years........................................ 9,310 440 4,519 482 4,791 411 55 years and over..................................... 955 435 501 462 454 418 Hispanic origin 16 years and over......................................... 10,183 364 6,475 381 3,707 330 16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,600 290 1,042 295 558 277 25 years and over....................................... 8,583 390 5,434 410 3,149 352 25 to 54 years........................................ 7,864 389 5,017 410 2,847 352 55 years and over..................................... 718 398 416 411 302 349 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. Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and 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 I I I I 1997 1998 1997 1998 TOTAL Managerial and professional specialty.................... 28,164 28,748 $740 $741 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 13,625 14,026 726 730 Professional specialty................................. 14,539 14,721 754 750 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 25,841 26,602 453 476 Technicians and related support........................ 3,445 3,414 578 597 Sales occupations...................................... 8,783 9,285 482 505 Administrative support, including clerical............. 13,614 13,904 415 435 Service occupations...................................... 9,587 10,415 310 323 Private household...................................... 351 382 215 214 Protective service..................................... 1,870 2,197 570 595 Service, except private household and protective....... 7,365 7,836 292 301 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 11,035 11,535 547 567 Mechanics and repairers................................ 3,901 4,127 578 596 Construction trades.................................... 3,675 3,788 532 535 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 3,460 3,620 524 552 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 14,811 14,755 398 409 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 7,256 7,057 388 405 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 3,968 4,228 492 505 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 3,588 3,469 336 342 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,294 1,128 294 302 Men Managerial and professional specialty.................... 14,562 14,516 875 865 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 7,530 7,384 858 864 Professional specialty................................. 7,032 7,132 889 865 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 9,861 10,222 591 606 Technicians and related support........................ 1,793 1,751 663 697 Sales occupations...................................... 4,939 5,179 604 619 Administrative support, including clerical............. 3,129 3,292 515 522 Service occupations...................................... 4,691 5,243 363 388 Private household...................................... 10 15 (1) (1) Protective service..................................... 1,585 1,854 $582 $604 Service, except private household and protective....... 3,096 3,374 315 317 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 10,095 10,564 572 585 Mechanics and repairers................................ 3,757 3,943 582 598 Construction trades.................................... 3,621 3,720 535 539 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 2,717 2,901 602 613 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 11,295 11,309 429 452 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 4,688 4,591 $443 $475 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 3,721 3,865 498 515 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 2,887 2,853 345 350 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,099 936 307 303 Women Managerial and professional specialty.................... 13,602 14,231 630 647 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 6,095 6,642 597 620 Professional specialty................................. 7,507 7,589 663 671 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 15,980 16,381 400 418 Technicians and related support........................ 1,652 1,663 496 512 Sales occupations...................................... 3,843 4,106 346 386 Administrative support, including clerical............. 10,485 10,612 398 414 Service occupations...................................... 4,896 5,172 279 290 Private household...................................... 341 367 214 211 Protective service..................................... 286 343 495 492 Service, except private household and protective....... 4,269 4,462 278 288 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 940 971 366 404 Mechanics and repairers................................ 144 184 420 508 Construction trades.................................... 54 68 (1) (1) Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 742 719 $357 $385 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 3,516 3,445 316 321 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 2,568 2,466 311 323 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 247 363 392 325 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 701 616 312 308 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 195 193 240 297 1 Data not shown where base is less than 100,000. Beginning in January 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and 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, first quarter 1998 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.................................. 93,183 $255 $345 $521 $779 $1,142 Men..................................................... 52,791 278 386 596 882 1,259 Women................................................... 40,392 235 312 455 655 928 White................................................... 77,526 263 359 543 806 1,163 Men................................................... 44,840 285 401 611 904 1,291 Women................................................. 32,686 240 319 467 668 947 Black................................................... 11,383 230 297 418 624 894 Men................................................... 5,579 244 311 452 679 974 Women................................................. 5,803 218 283 395 588 790 Hispanic................................................ 10,183 212 268 364 557 793 Men................................................... 6,475 225 278 381 585 866 Women................................................. 3,707 196 250 330 504 702 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Total, 25 years and over................................ 83,513 272 373 563 819 1,169 Less than a high school diploma....................... 8,396 196 249 326 487 670 High school graduates, no college..................... 27,094 253 328 469 655 881 Some college or associate degree...................... 23,231 293 389 561 771 1,025 College graduates, total.............................. 24,793 412 577 802 1,161 1,700 Bachelor's degree only.............................. 16,494 384 524 737 1,077 1,529 Advanced degree..................................... 8,299 492 675 951 1,362 1,909 Men, 25 years and over................................ 47,230 294 418 629 921 1,313 Less than a high school diploma..................... 5,469 214 274 370 540 731 High school graduates, no college................... 15,347 286 385 543 751 971 Some college or associate degree.................... 12,616 320 453 639 878 1,156 College graduates, total............................ 13,798 454 633 930 1,341 1,903 Bachelor's degree only............................ 9,118 428 593 852 1,226 1,769 Advanced degree................................... 4,679 524 753 1,093 1,549 2,118 Women, 25 years and over.............................. 36,283 246 327 480 683 958 Less than a high school diploma..................... 2,926 180 221 280 369 499 High school graduates, no college................... 11,747 228 293 391 524 684 Some college or associate degree.................... 10,615 276 346 475 634 845 College graduates, total............................ 10,995 378 513 695 961 1,312 Bachelor's degree only............................ 7,376 $350 $484 $640 $879 $1,172 Advanced degree................................... 3,620 459 620 834 1,120 1,537 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 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and 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 I I I I 1997 1998 1997 1998 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 21,302 21,705 $143 $152 Men, 16 years and over................................. 6,620 6,797 130 142 16 to 24 years....................................... 3,577 3,746 108 114 25 years and over.................................... 3,043 3,051 179 198 Women, 16 years and over............................... 14,682 14,908 148 155 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,456 4,845 107 111 25 years and over.................................... 10,226 10,062 172 184 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 18,523 18,646 143 152 Men.................................................. 5,741 5,799 129 140 Women................................................ 12,782 12,847 149 157 Black.................................................. 2,023 2,165 138 147 Men.................................................. 586 659 132 149 Women................................................ 1,438 1,506 140 147 Hispanic origin........................................ 1,905 1,869 140 155 Men.................................................. 739 680 145 167 Women................................................ 1,166 1,190 137 150 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 1998, data reflect new composite estimation procedures and revised population controls used in the household survey.