Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 02-599 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Monday, October 21, 2002 USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: THIRD QUARTER 2002 Median weekly earnings of the nation's 99.8 million full-time wage and salary workers were $605 in the third quarter of 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 1.7 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 1.6 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 $528 per week, or 78.1 percent of the $676 median for men. The female-to-male earnings ratios were higher among blacks (89.3 percent) and Hispanics (90.5 percent) than among whites (78.5 percent). (See table 1.) --Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $512 per week, 73.0 percent of the median for white men ($701). The difference was much less among women, as black women's median earnings ($457) were 83.1 per- cent of those for their white counterparts ($550). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($421) were lower than those of blacks ($485) and whites ($623). (See table 1.) --Among men, the highest median weekly earnings were for those age 55 to 64 ($808) and age 45 to 54 ($798). Among women, earnings were highest for those 45 to 54 years old ($606). (See table 2.) --Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in managerial and professional specialty occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$1,056 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 $388, compared with $534 for high school graduates (no college) and $944 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 $2,682 or more per week, compared with $1,834 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 III III 2001 2002 III III III III 2001 2002 2001 2002 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 100,851 99,822 $595 $605 $323 $323 Men, 16 years and over................................. 56,865 56,306 674 676 366 361 16 to 24 years....................................... 7,303 6,985 389 378 211 202 25 years and over.................................... 49,562 49,321 725 734 394 392 Women, 16 years and over............................... 43,987 43,516 507 528 275 282 16 to 24 years....................................... 5,555 5,333 350 359 190 192 25 years and over.................................... 38,432 38,183 542 572 294 306 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 83,196 82,325 610 623 331 333 Men.................................................. 48,118 47,487 694 701 377 374 Women................................................ 35,078 34,838 515 550 279 294 Black.................................................. 12,642 12,497 489 485 266 259 Men.................................................. 5,953 6,029 516 512 280 274 Women................................................ 6,689 6,468 457 457 248 244 Hispanic origin........................................ 11,712 11,897 418 421 227 225 Men.................................................. 7,159 7,205 450 441 244 236 Women................................................ 4,552 4,692 383 399 208 213 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, third 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......................................... 99,822 $605 56,306 $676 43,516 $528 16 to 24 years.......................................... 12,318 370 6,985 378 5,333 359 16 to 19 years........................................ 2,504 302 1,514 308 990 295 20 to 24 years........................................ 9,814 392 5,471 400 4,343 381 25 years and over....................................... 87,503 650 49,321 734 38,183 572 25 to 54 years........................................ 75,286 651 42,561 730 32,725 576 25 to 34 years...................................... 23,982 592 13,687 634 10,295 534 35 to 44 years...................................... 27,616 675 15,859 767 11,757 571 45 to 54 years...................................... 23,689 707 13,016 798 10,673 606 55 years and over..................................... 12,217 644 6,760 768 5,457 549 55 to 64 years...................................... 10,760 666 5,902 808 4,858 567 65 years and over................................... 1,456 501 858 593 599 415 White 16 years and over......................................... 82,325 623 47,487 701 34,838 550 16 to 24 years.......................................... 10,440 373 6,030 383 4,409 359 25 years and over....................................... 71,886 677 41,457 759 30,429 588 25 to 54 years........................................ 61,421 677 35,555 752 25,867 591 55 years and over..................................... 10,464 681 5,903 826 4,562 574 Black 16 years and over......................................... 12,497 485 6,029 512 6,468 457 16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,435 344 716 327 718 356 25 years and over....................................... 11,062 505 5,312 551 5,750 478 25 to 54 years........................................ 9,833 507 4,747 547 5,086 481 55 years and over..................................... 1,229 493 565 582 664 450 Hispanic origin 16 years and over......................................... 11,897 421 7,205 441 4,692 399 16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,992 330 1,282 335 710 323 25 years and over....................................... 9,905 455 5,922 484 3,983 418 25 to 54 years........................................ 8,933 456 5,339 481 3,594 422 55 years and over..................................... 973 442 584 511 389 377 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 III III III III 2001 2002 2001 2002 TOTAL Managerial and professional specialty.................... 32,298 32,333 $867 $878 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 16,149 15,911 884 886 Professional specialty................................. 16,149 16,421 854 872 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 28,546 27,898 516 551 Technicians and related support........................ 3,837 3,690 683 697 Sales occupations...................................... 10,323 10,286 568 600 Administrative support, including clerical............. 14,386 13,922 479 501 Service occupations...................................... 11,608 11,787 368 381 Private household...................................... 354 394 248 273 Protective service..................................... 2,163 2,343 609 614 Service, except private household and protective....... 9,091 9,050 345 355 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 12,236 11,534 627 634 Mechanics and repairers................................ 4,160 4,064 670 676 Construction trades.................................... 4,649 4,359 611 606 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 3,427 3,111 614 632 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 14,504 14,402 475 483 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 5,957 5,659 462 469 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 4,686 4,584 587 594 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 3,862 4,159 390 403 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,658 1,867 347 381 Men Managerial and professional specialty.................... 16,476 16,068 1,053 1,056 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 8,631 8,349 1,077 1,061 Professional specialty................................. 7,845 7,719 1,026 1,050 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 11,054 10,963 664 703 Technicians and related support........................ 1,933 1,803 786 848 Sales occupations...................................... 5,657 5,928 683 748 Administrative support, including clerical............. 3,464 3,233 552 588 Service occupations...................................... 5,424 5,664 420 434 Private household...................................... 12 39 (1) (1) Protective service..................................... 1,781 1,978 624 639 Service, except private household and protective....... 3,631 3,647 366 377 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 11,149 10,628 645 653 Mechanics and repairers................................ 3,927 3,886 672 677 Construction trades.................................... 4,558 4,259 613 608 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 2,664 2,482 669 693 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 11,346 11,401 508 510 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 3,888 3,766 513 511 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 4,304 4,262 603 604 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 3,153 3,373 402 415 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,416 1,581 361 386 Women Managerial and professional specialty.................... 15,823 16,264 727 755 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 7,518 7,562 709 740 Professional specialty................................. 8,304 8,702 738 771 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 17,492 16,935 465 486 Technicians and related support........................ 1,905 1,887 583 589 Sales occupations...................................... 4,665 4,358 421 436 Administrative support, including clerical............. 10,922 10,689 461 485 Service occupations...................................... 6,184 6,123 334 342 Private household...................................... 342 355 241 276 Protective service..................................... 382 365 501 487 Service, except private household and protective....... 5,461 5,402 331 341 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 1,087 906 489 467 Mechanics and repairers................................ 233 178 620 610 Construction trades.................................... 90 99 (1) (1) Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 764 629 465 450 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 3,159 3,002 377 383 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 2,069 1,894 379 384 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 381 322 440 452 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 708 786 347 355 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 242 286 299 330 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, third 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.................................. 99,822 $294 $400 $605 $922 $1,383 Men..................................................... 56,306 310 436 676 1,033 1,539 Women................................................... 43,516 278 367 528 774 1,123 White................................................... 82,325 299 411 623 948 1,421 Men................................................... 47,487 316 456 701 1,068 1,559 Women................................................. 34,838 283 377 550 794 1,141 Black................................................... 12,497 263 343 485 707 1,017 Men................................................... 6,029 285 376 512 746 1,130 Women................................................. 6,468 246 324 457 657 957 Hispanic................................................ 11,897 256 314 421 630 950 Men................................................... 7,205 269 326 441 684 1,044 Women................................................. 4,692 243 299 399 586 826 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Total, 25 years and over................................ 87,503 314 436 650 972 1,446 Less than a high school diploma....................... 8,080 242 298 388 536 735 High school graduates, no college..................... 26,557 295 390 534 757 1,043 Some college or associate degree...................... 24,362 332 448 623 884 1,218 College graduates, total.............................. 28,505 480 668 944 1,393 1,911 Bachelor's degree only.............................. 19,078 452 630 892 1,268 1,774 Advanced degree..................................... 9,427 566 760 1,104 1,602 2,315 Men, 25 years and over................................ 49,321 346 493 734 1,111 1,592 Less than a high school diploma..................... 5,385 266 317 423 591 794 High school graduates, no college................... 15,005 331 442 619 873 1,183 Some college or associate degree.................... 12,907 382 522 728 1,008 1,376 College graduates, total............................ 16,023 510 742 1,079 1,560 2,216 Bachelor's degree only............................ 10,563 484 701 993 1,447 1,912 Advanced degree................................... 5,461 593 850 1,260 1,846 2,682 Women, 25 years and over.............................. 38,183 290 390 572 822 1,165 Less than a high school diploma..................... 2,695 214 266 330 418 564 High school graduates, no college................... 11,551 274 340 455 613 836 Some college or associate degree.................... 11,454 301 396 534 729 966 College graduates, total............................ 12,482 453 609 828 1,142 1,586 Bachelor's degree only............................ 8,515 425 586 779 1,069 1,473 Advanced degree................................... 3,966 533 693 928 1,288 1,834 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 III III III III 2001 2002 2001 2002 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 19,747 20,705 $189 $194 Men, 16 years and over................................. 6,253 6,560 180 188 16 to 24 years....................................... 3,321 3,318 157 158 25 years and over.................................... 2,933 3,242 217 230 Women, 16 years and over............................... 13,494 14,146 192 196 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,214 4,432 150 154 25 years and over.................................... 9,280 9,714 218 226 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 16,987 17,704 190 195 Men.................................................. 5,223 5,474 182 189 Women................................................ 11,764 12,229 194 198 Black.................................................. 1,859 1,944 172 182 Men.................................................. 711 681 162 186 Women................................................ 1,148 1,263 177 181 Hispanic origin........................................ 1,926 2,076 190 184 Men.................................................. 685 732 194 202 Women................................................ 1,241 1,345 188 174 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.