Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 02-396 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Monday, July 22, 2002 USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: SECOND QUARTER 2002 Median weekly earnings of the nation's 98.7 million full-time wage and salary workers were $608 in the second quarter of 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 2.2 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 1.3 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 second-quarter data are: --Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $521 per week, or 76.3 percent of the $683 median for men. The female-to-male earnings ratios were higher among blacks (88.0 percent) and Hispanics (85.7 percent) than among whites (75.5 percent). (See table 1.) --Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $535 per week, 75.4 percent of the median for white men ($710). The difference was much less among women, as black women's median earnings ($471) were 87.9 percent of those for their white counterparts ($536). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($421) were lower than those of blacks ($502) and whites ($625). (See table 1.) --Among men, the $831 median weekly earnings of 45- to 54-year-olds was the highest of any age group. Among women, earnings also were highest for those 45 to 54 years old ($589). (See table 2.) --Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in managerial and professional specialty occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$1,049 for men and $755 for women. Men and women in service and farm jobs earned the least. (See table 3.) --Full-time workers age 25 and over without a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of $392, compared with $535 for high school graduates (no college) and $943 for college graduates. --Among college graduates with advanced degrees (professional or master's degree and above), the highest-earning 10 percent of male workers made $2,436 or more per week, compared with $1,753 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 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). - 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 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 II II 2001 2002 II II II II 2001 2002 2001 2002 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 99,917 98,730 $595 $608 $323 $326 Men, 16 years and over................................. 55,896 55,604 667 683 363 367 16 to 24 years....................................... 6,385 6,340 394 399 214 214 25 years and over.................................... 49,511 49,264 716 738 389 396 Women, 16 years and over............................... 44,021 43,126 514 521 280 280 16 to 24 years....................................... 5,240 4,981 348 356 189 191 25 years and over.................................... 38,781 38,145 547 562 297 301 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 82,348 81,281 609 625 331 335 Men.................................................. 47,292 46,918 687 710 374 381 Women................................................ 35,056 34,363 522 536 284 288 Black.................................................. 12,635 12,382 495 502 269 269 Men.................................................. 5,887 5,964 537 535 292 287 Women................................................ 6,747 6,418 460 471 250 253 Hispanic origin........................................ 12,012 11,859 417 421 227 226 Men.................................................. 7,375 7,291 445 456 242 245 Women................................................ 4,637 4,568 383 391 208 210 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 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, second quarter 2002 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......................................... 98,730 $608 55,604 $683 43,126 $521 16 to 24 years.......................................... 11,321 378 6,340 399 4,981 356 16 to 19 years........................................ 1,973 302 1,153 306 819 295 20 to 24 years........................................ 9,348 400 5,187 422 4,161 370 25 years and over....................................... 87,409 647 49,264 738 38,145 562 25 to 54 years........................................ 75,434 647 42,595 732 32,839 565 25 to 34 years...................................... 23,751 588 13,674 624 10,077 522 35 to 44 years...................................... 27,899 669 15,990 761 11,909 580 45 to 54 years...................................... 23,784 711 12,931 831 10,853 589 55 years and over..................................... 11,975 648 6,669 773 5,306 542 55 to 64 years...................................... 10,317 671 5,725 801 4,592 561 65 years and over................................... 1,658 501 944 585 714 447 White 16 years and over......................................... 81,281 625 46,918 710 34,363 536 16 to 24 years.......................................... 9,436 384 5,390 404 4,046 359 25 years and over....................................... 71,846 673 41,529 761 30,317 579 25 to 54 years........................................ 61,518 673 35,710 756 25,808 582 55 years and over..................................... 10,328 673 5,819 806 4,509 559 Black 16 years and over......................................... 12,382 502 5,964 535 6,418 471 16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,424 350 707 364 718 343 25 years and over....................................... 10,958 521 5,257 575 5,700 489 25 to 54 years........................................ 9,783 521 4,661 575 5,123 491 55 years and over..................................... 1,175 515 597 567 578 475 Hispanic origin 16 years and over......................................... 11,859 421 7,291 456 4,568 391 16 to 24 years.......................................... 2,021 334 1,287 359 734 303 25 years and over....................................... 9,838 458 6,004 489 3,834 413 25 to 54 years........................................ 8,922 459 5,484 490 3,438 412 55 years and over..................................... 916 457 520 471 396 432 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 II II II II 2001 2002 2001 2002 TOTAL Managerial and professional specialty.................... 32,209 32,118 $846 $884 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 15,891 15,923 846 893 Professional specialty................................. 16,318 16,195 845 877 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 28,116 27,728 523 543 Technicians and related support........................ 3,673 3,563 659 664 Sales occupations...................................... 10,212 10,353 576 593 Administrative support, including clerical............. 14,231 13,811 489 503 Service occupations...................................... 10,951 11,096 379 384 Private household...................................... 328 302 245 328 Protective service..................................... 2,231 2,236 618 646 Service, except private household and protective....... 8,393 8,558 348 356 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 12,027 11,614 620 625 Mechanics and repairers................................ 4,189 3,979 642 678 Construction trades.................................... 4,334 4,404 606 604 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 3,504 3,231 620 604 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 14,983 14,556 476 486 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 6,341 5,847 464 470 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 4,631 4,737 583 582 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 4,011 3,971 396 399 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,631 1,617 346 360 Men Managerial and professional specialty.................... 16,174 16,210 1,017 1,049 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 8,334 8,530 1,009 1,088 Professional specialty................................. 7,840 7,680 1,025 1,013 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 10,502 10,824 665 708 Technicians and related support........................ 1,853 1,768 750 823 Sales occupations...................................... 5,616 5,816 704 762 Administrative support, including clerical............. 3,032 3,240 574 599 Service occupations...................................... 5,200 5,187 437 443 Private household...................................... 10 20 (1) (1) Protective service..................................... 1,834 1,795 655 689 Service, except private household and protective....... 3,355 3,372 374 382 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 11,111 10,681 636 642 Mechanics and repairers................................ 4,043 3,777 650 680 Construction trades.................................... 4,229 4,297 608 606 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 2,839 2,606 677 643 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 11,586 11,345 505 517 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 4,093 3,825 518 521 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 4,306 4,354 595 592 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 3,188 3,166 405 411 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,323 1,356 357 373 Women Managerial and professional specialty.................... 16,035 15,908 728 755 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 7,557 7,393 700 735 Professional specialty................................. 8,478 8,515 745 773 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 17,614 16,903 478 485 Technicians and related support........................ 1,820 1,795 586 587 Sales occupations...................................... 4,595 4,537 434 433 Administrative support, including clerical............. 11,199 10,571 475 487 Service occupations...................................... 5,751 5,909 332 346 Private household...................................... 317 282 246 328 Protective service..................................... 396 442 517 512 Service, except private household and protective....... 5,038 5,185 327 339 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 915 933 477 459 Mechanics and repairers................................ 146 202 528 580 Construction trades.................................... 105 107 536 500 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 665 625 447 418 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 3,397 3,211 366 384 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 2,249 2,022 364 383 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 325 383 458 482 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 823 805 354 355 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 309 261 312 296 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, second quarter 2002 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.................................. 98,730 $297 $405 $608 $924 $1,374 Men..................................................... 55,604 318 453 683 1,035 1,544 Women................................................... 43,126 280 367 521 772 1,127 White................................................... 81,281 302 415 625 954 1,423 Men................................................... 46,918 324 469 710 1,072 1,595 Women................................................. 34,363 282 377 536 790 1,148 Black................................................... 12,382 278 352 502 724 1,001 Men................................................... 5,964 290 387 535 759 1,080 Women................................................. 6,418 265 328 471 664 925 Hispanic................................................ 11,859 250 312 421 637 941 Men................................................... 7,291 271 327 456 667 1,001 Women................................................. 4,568 232 290 391 589 844 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Total, 25 years and over................................ 87,409 315 436 647 971 1,434 Less than a high school diploma....................... 8,445 239 299 392 534 741 High school graduates, no college..................... 26,674 295 392 535 759 1,030 Some college or associate degree...................... 23,814 337 453 636 890 1,236 College graduates, total.............................. 28,476 460 647 943 1,370 1,905 Bachelor's degree only.............................. 18,912 430 608 871 1,254 1,770 Advanced degree..................................... 9,564 557 763 1,109 1,568 2,122 Men, 25 years and over................................ 49,264 347 495 738 1,106 1,614 Less than a high school diploma..................... 5,554 261 326 443 606 816 High school graduates, no college................... 15,013 329 447 618 871 1,169 Some college or associate degree.................... 12,726 380 521 743 1,002 1,408 College graduates, total............................ 15,970 501 732 1,083 1,560 2,196 Bachelor's degree only............................ 10,610 479 671 992 1,433 1,967 Advanced degree................................... 5,360 593 866 1,262 1,774 2,436 Women, 25 years and over.............................. 38,145 291 390 562 811 1,161 Less than a high school diploma..................... 2,891 212 269 324 411 518 High school graduates, no college................... 11,662 272 345 460 618 816 Some college or associate degree.................... 11,087 311 399 540 748 983 College graduates, total............................ 12,506 424 594 803 1,135 1,541 Bachelor's degree only............................ 8,302 396 548 746 1,042 1,399 Advanced degree................................... 4,203 525 690 935 1,301 1,753 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 II II II II 2001 2002 2001 2002 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 20,956 21,260 $176 $189 Men, 16 years and over................................. 6,953 6,808 160 181 16 to 24 years....................................... 3,805 3,567 135 149 25 years and over.................................... 3,147 3,241 215 228 Women, 16 years and over............................... 14,003 14,451 186 194 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,441 4,527 134 138 25 years and over.................................... 9,562 9,924 220 230 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 18,167 18,368 178 190 Men.................................................. 5,855 5,707 161 176 Women................................................ 12,312 12,661 188 196 Black.................................................. 1,924 1,989 162 186 Men.................................................. 694 726 146 203 Women................................................ 1,230 1,264 170 176 Hispanic origin........................................ 1,876 2,178 178 183 Men.................................................. 765 723 180 190 Women................................................ 1,111 1,455 177 181 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.