Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 02-224 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, April 17, 2002 USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: FIRST QUARTER 2002 Median weekly earnings of the nation's 97.2 million full-time wage and salary workers were $614 in the first quarter of 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 3.7 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 first-quarter data are: --Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $535 per week, or 77.8 percent of the $688 median for men. The female-to-male earnings ratios were higher among blacks (91.8 percent) and Hispanics (85.1 percent) than among whites (77.5 percent). (See table 1.) --Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $538 per week, 76.0 percent of the median for white men ($708). The difference was much less among women, as black women's median earnings ($494) were 90.0 percent of those for their white counterparts ($549). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($421) were lower than those of blacks ($511) and whites ($629). (See table 1.) --Among men, the $810 median weekly earnings of 45- to 54-year-olds was the highest of any age group. Men age 55 to 64 had the second-highest earnings ($795). Among women, earnings also were highest for those 45 to 54 years old ($605) and second highest for 55- to 64-year-olds ($581). (See table 2.) --Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in managerial and professional specialty occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$1,053 for men and $760 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 $386, compared with $536 for high school graduates (no college) and $940 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 $2,716 or more per week, compared with $1,751 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 I I 2001 2002 I I I I 2001 2002 2001 2002 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 99,054 97,165 $592 $614 $325 $333 Men, 16 years and over................................. 55,382 54,188 668 688 367 373 16 to 24 years....................................... 6,195 5,640 384 410 211 222 25 years and over.................................... 49,187 48,548 718 734 394 398 Women, 16 years and over............................... 43,673 42,977 508 535 279 290 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,831 4,521 358 375 197 204 25 years and over.................................... 38,842 38,456 535 574 294 311 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 81,758 80,357 610 629 335 341 Men.................................................. 46,862 45,739 695 708 381 384 Women................................................ 34,896 34,618 520 549 286 298 Black.................................................. 12,527 12,101 477 511 262 277 Men.................................................. 5,899 5,820 505 538 277 291 Women................................................ 6,628 6,281 440 494 241 268 Hispanic origin........................................ 11,627 11,582 407 421 223 228 Men.................................................. 7,083 7,067 424 456 233 247 Women................................................ 4,543 4,515 377 388 207 210 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, first 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......................................... 97,165 $614 54,188 $688 42,977 $535 16 to 24 years.......................................... 10,160 393 5,640 410 4,521 375 16 to 19 years........................................ 1,605 316 916 331 689 301 20 to 24 years........................................ 8,555 408 4,724 425 3,832 390 25 years and over....................................... 87,004 649 48,548 734 38,456 574 25 to 54 years........................................ 75,161 649 42,042 730 33,119 575 25 to 34 years...................................... 23,583 598 13,444 635 10,139 543 35 to 44 years...................................... 28,021 667 15,882 759 12,139 565 45 to 54 years...................................... 23,557 707 12,715 810 10,842 605 55 years and over..................................... 11,843 650 6,506 770 5,337 567 55 to 64 years...................................... 10,337 671 5,607 795 4,730 581 65 years and over................................... 1,506 494 899 524 607 435 White 16 years and over......................................... 80,357 629 45,739 708 34,618 549 16 to 24 years.......................................... 8,602 398 4,870 416 3,732 378 25 years and over....................................... 71,756 669 40,870 755 30,886 584 25 to 54 years........................................ 61,540 669 35,186 749 26,355 584 55 years and over..................................... 10,215 671 5,684 799 4,531 579 Black 16 years and over......................................... 12,101 511 5,820 538 6,281 494 16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,133 356 580 349 554 367 25 years and over....................................... 10,968 534 5,240 575 5,728 511 25 to 54 years........................................ 9,778 535 4,665 577 5,113 512 55 years and over..................................... 1,190 522 575 555 614 499 Hispanic origin 16 years and over......................................... 11,582 421 7,067 456 4,515 388 16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,918 343 1,197 349 721 332 25 years and over....................................... 9,664 456 5,870 491 3,794 404 25 to 54 years........................................ 8,701 452 5,278 491 3,422 399 55 years and over..................................... 964 485 592 488 372 479 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 I I I I 2001 2002 2001 2002 TOTAL Managerial and professional specialty.................... 31,990 32,099 $853 $887 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 15,754 15,823 865 901 Professional specialty................................. 16,236 16,276 844 875 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 28,412 27,277 519 550 Technicians and related support........................ 3,715 3,506 660 691 Sales occupations...................................... 10,239 9,745 579 603 Administrative support, including clerical............. 14,458 14,026 483 502 Service occupations...................................... 11,025 11,196 367 378 Private household...................................... 380 302 265 267 Protective service..................................... 2,101 2,314 613 665 Service, except private household and protective....... 8,544 8,580 330 347 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 12,120 11,407 622 644 Mechanics and repairers................................ 4,143 3,994 654 679 Construction trades.................................... 4,405 4,228 603 623 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 3,572 3,185 619 627 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 14,312 13,872 454 486 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 6,220 5,608 446 485 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 4,108 4,376 556 574 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 3,984 3,888 390 400 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,196 1,315 370 359 Men Managerial and professional specialty.................... 16,179 15,843 1,029 1,053 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 8,331 8,263 1,059 1,091 Professional specialty................................. 7,848 7,580 1,009 1,021 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 10,708 10,400 681 691 Technicians and related support........................ 1,905 1,717 796 851 Sales occupations...................................... 5,617 5,426 725 727 Administrative support, including clerical............. 3,186 3,257 583 580 Service occupations...................................... 5,420 5,474 429 442 Private household...................................... 23 14 (1) (1) Protective service..................................... 1,755 1,881 639 721 Service, except private household and protective....... 3,642 3,579 366 372 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 11,016 10,479 643 656 Mechanics and repairers................................ 3,921 3,781 661 683 Construction trades.................................... 4,324 4,154 605 623 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 2,771 2,544 684 671 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 11,022 10,932 491 516 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 4,030 3,776 504 532 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 3,731 4,046 576 585 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 3,261 3,111 405 411 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,036 1,059 376 370 Women Managerial and professional specialty.................... 15,811 16,255 731 760 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 7,423 7,559 710 741 Professional specialty................................. 8,387 8,696 745 774 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 17,704 16,877 469 487 Technicians and related support........................ 1,810 1,788 556 584 Sales occupations...................................... 4,622 4,320 423 445 Administrative support, including clerical............. 11,272 10,769 464 485 Service occupations...................................... 5,605 5,722 319 332 Private household...................................... 357 288 269 264 Protective service..................................... 346 433 483 470 Service, except private household and protective....... 4,902 5,000 317 328 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 1,104 928 466 495 Mechanics and repairers................................ 222 213 556 591 Construction trades.................................... 81 74 (1) (1) Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 801 640 432 454 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 3,290 2,939 361 388 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 2,190 1,832 368 393 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 377 330 412 440 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 723 777 317 363 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 159 256 344 314 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, first 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.................................. 97,165 $295 $407 $614 $926 $1,377 Men..................................................... 54,188 319 455 688 1,031 1,559 Women................................................... 42,977 275 370 535 781 1,115 White................................................... 80,357 300 417 629 948 1,425 Men................................................... 45,739 326 474 708 1,063 1,589 Women................................................. 34,618 278 378 549 793 1,133 Black................................................... 12,101 276 357 511 757 1,067 Men................................................... 5,820 287 378 538 803 1,140 Women................................................. 6,281 263 337 494 711 1,010 Hispanic................................................ 11,582 244 307 421 631 916 Men................................................... 7,067 263 322 456 685 978 Women................................................. 4,515 224 286 388 576 775 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Total, 25 years and over................................ 87,004 308 433 649 969 1,443 Less than a high school diploma....................... 8,081 234 291 386 524 733 High school graduates, no college..................... 26,478 291 386 536 756 1,020 Some college or associate degree...................... 24,549 326 447 633 897 1,200 College graduates, total.............................. 27,896 483 663 940 1,401 1,975 Bachelor's degree only.............................. 18,329 454 622 879 1,284 1,852 Advanced degree..................................... 9,567 573 752 1,065 1,593 2,315 Men, 25 years and over................................ 48,548 342 493 734 1,096 1,625 Less than a high school diploma..................... 5,203 255 319 418 594 798 High school graduates, no college................... 15,083 321 438 617 857 1,143 Some college or associate degree.................... 12,936 370 509 723 999 1,350 College graduates, total............................ 15,326 549 752 1,103 1,632 2,319 Bachelor's degree only............................ 10,019 519 724 1,018 1,510 2,086 Advanced degree................................... 5,307 610 849 1,253 1,878 2,716 Women, 25 years and over.............................. 38,456 283 388 574 816 1,151 Less than a high school diploma..................... 2,878 200 258 318 418 556 High school graduates, no college................... 11,395 261 338 456 613 808 Some college or associate degree.................... 11,613 300 399 556 759 1,016 College graduates, total............................ 12,570 426 597 799 1,102 1,555 Bachelor's degree only............................ 8,310 397 562 752 1,026 1,448 Advanced degree................................... 4,260 524 688 914 1,274 1,751 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 I I I I 2001 2002 2001 2002 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 21,431 21,658 $175 $179 Men, 16 years and over................................. 6,799 6,957 163 170 16 to 24 years....................................... 3,696 3,731 129 143 25 years and over.................................... 3,103 3,226 221 219 Women, 16 years and over............................... 14,632 14,701 181 184 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,752 4,700 127 133 25 years and over.................................... 9,880 10,001 214 215 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 18,488 18,564 175 180 Men.................................................. 5,654 5,796 163 170 Women................................................ 12,835 12,767 182 186 Black.................................................. 1,959 2,061 170 168 Men.................................................. 737 754 151 168 Women................................................ 1,222 1,306 181 168 Hispanic origin........................................ 2,027 2,166 175 184 Men.................................................. 716 716 174 190 Women................................................ 1,310 1,451 176 181 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.