Technical information:(202) 691-6378 USDL 08-0507
http://www.bls.gov/cps/
For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, April 17, 2008
USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS:
FIRST QUARTER 2008
Median weekly earnings of the nation's 106.5 million full-time wage and
salary workers were $719 in the first quarter of 2008, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 3.8 per-
cent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 4.1 percent in the
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) over the same period.
Data on usual weekly earnings are collected as part of the Current Popula-
tion 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 Technical Note.) Highlights from the first-quarter data are:
--Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $637 per
week, or 80.6 percent of the $790 median for men. The female-to-
male earnings ratios were higher among Hispanics (93.1 percent)
and blacks (92.1 percent) than among whites (79.3 percent) or
Asians (80.3 percent). (See table 1.)
--Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $604
per week, 73.5 percent of the median for white men ($822). The dif-
ference was less among women, as black women's median earnings ($556)
were 85.3 percent of those for their white counterparts ($652). Over-
all, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($520) were
lower than those of blacks ($582), whites ($742), and Asians ($842).
(See table 1.)
--Among men, those age 45 to 54 and age 55 to 64 had the highest median
weekly earnings, $927 and $957, respectively. Among women, weekly
earnings also were highest for those age 45 to 54 and age 55 to 64,
$700 and $702, respectively. (See table 2.)
--Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in
managerial, professional, and related occupations had the highest
median weekly earnings--$1,236 for men and $890 for women. Men and
women employed in service jobs earned the least. (See table 3.)
--Full-time workers age 25 and over without a high school diploma had
median weekly earnings of $435, compared with $615 for high school
graduates (no college) and $1,108 for those holding at least a bachelor's
degree. Among college graduates with advanced degrees (professional or
master's degree and above), the highest 10 percent of male workers made
$3,080 or more per week, compared with $1,988 or more for their female
counterparts. (See table 4.)
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Technical 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 scientifically
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 nonsampling
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 de-
pending 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 informa-
tion on estimating standard errors, see the Household Data section of the
"Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" at http://www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_
methods.pdf.
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.
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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, such as $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 busi-
nesses 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 or Latino ethnicity. Refers to persons who identified themselves
in the enumeration process as being Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino. Persons
whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.
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
2007 2008
I I I I
2007 2008 2007 2008
SEX AND AGE
Total, 16 years and over....................................... 105,888 106,507 $693 $719 $328 $327
Men, 16 years and over....................................... 59,052 59,324 759 790 359 360
16 to 24 years............................................. 6,102 5,888 451 466 214 212
25 years and over.......................................... 52,951 53,436 811 848 384 386
Women, 16 years and over..................................... 46,836 47,182 615 637 291 290
16 to 24 years............................................. 4,632 4,531 414 419 196 191
25 years and over.......................................... 42,203 42,652 646 666 306 303
RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY, AND SEX
White........................................................ 85,359 85,721 714 742 338 338
Men........................................................ 48,802 48,810 783 822 371 374
Women...................................................... 36,557 36,911 625 652 296 297
Black or African American.................................... 13,007 12,922 561 582 266 265
Men........................................................ 6,135 6,101 585 604 277 275
Women...................................................... 6,872 6,821 540 556 256 253
Asian........................................................ 5,146 5,297 798 842 378 383
Men........................................................ 2,845 2,981 864 939 409 427
Women...................................................... 2,301 2,316 743 754 352 343
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity................................. 16,037 15,588 502 520 238 237
Men........................................................ 10,092 9,819 520 538 246 245
Women...................................................... 5,946 5,769 471 501 223 228
NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not
presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls
are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity,
and sex, first quarter 2008 averages, not seasonally adjusted
Total Men Women
Age, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity Number of Number of Number of
workers Median workers Median workers Median
(in weekly (in weekly (in weekly
thousands) earnings thousands) earnings thousands) earnings
TOTAL
16 years and over........................................... 106,507 $719 59,324 $790 47,182 $637
16 to 24 years............................................ 10,419 445 5,888 466 4,531 419
16 to 19 years.......................................... 1,381 343 832 370 548 316
20 to 24 years.......................................... 9,038 469 5,056 483 3,982 443
25 years and over......................................... 96,088 757 53,436 848 42,652 666
25 to 54 years.......................................... 78,799 751 44,142 834 34,657 664
25 to 34 years........................................ 25,469 659 14,532 701 10,938 618
35 to 44 years........................................ 26,559 805 15,086 915 11,474 688
45 to 54 years........................................ 26,770 809 14,524 927 12,246 700
55 years and over....................................... 17,289 781 9,295 932 7,995 674
55 to 64 years........................................ 14,746 819 7,898 957 6,848 702
65 years and over..................................... 2,543 643 1,396 751 1,146 530
White
16 years and over........................................... 85,721 742 48,810 822 36,911 652
16 to 24 years............................................ 8,376 453 4,790 475 3,585 422
25 years and over......................................... 77,345 780 44,019 881 33,326 683
25 to 54 years.......................................... 62,740 774 35,997 864 26,743 680
55 years and over....................................... 14,605 816 8,023 960 6,583 693
Black or African American
16 years and over........................................... 12,922 582 6,101 604 6,821 556
16 to 24 years............................................ 1,277 390 665 402 612 380
25 years and over......................................... 11,645 602 5,436 632 6,209 581
25 to 54 years.......................................... 9,941 599 4,694 621 5,247 581
55 years and over....................................... 1,704 639 742 726 962 584
Asian
16 years and over........................................... 5,297 842 2,981 939 2,316 754
16 to 24 years............................................ 384 557 193 520 191 604
25 years and over......................................... 4,913 875 2,788 974 2,125 769
25 to 54 years.......................................... 4,188 914 2,396 1,027 1,791 781
55 years and over....................................... 726 696 391 694 334 700
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
16 years and over........................................... 15,588 520 9,819 538 5,769 501
16 to 24 years............................................ 2,016 408 1,279 417 737 392
25 years and over......................................... 13,572 555 8,540 577 5,032 519
25 to 54 years.......................................... 12,163 554 7,682 576 4,482 520
55 years and over....................................... 1,409 563 858 582 550 516
NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because
data are not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.
Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
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
2007 2008 2007 2008
TOTAL
Management, professional, and related occupations................... 39,139 39,815 $976 $1,018
Management, business, and financial operations occupations........ 16,389 16,313 1,042 1,127
Professional and related occupations.............................. 22,750 23,502 936 967
Service occupations................................................. 14,050 14,227 451 464
Sales and office occupations........................................ 25,748 25,574 597 614
Sales and related occupations..................................... 10,717 10,320 645 650
Office and administrative support occupations..................... 15,031 15,253 577 601
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations........ 12,180 11,633 672 699
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations........................ 657 688 341 400
Construction and extraction occupations........................... 7,164 6,374 659 676
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations................. 4,359 4,571 730 772
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations......... 14,772 15,259 563 595
Production occupations............................................ 7,933 8,369 568 594
Transportation and material moving occupations.................... 6,839 6,890 558 596
Men
Management, professional, and related occupations................... 18,855 19,388 1,162 1,236
Management, business, and financial operations occupations........ 8,829 8,810 1,244 1,341
Professional and related occupations.............................. 10,026 10,578 1,135 1,170
Service occupations................................................. 7,054 7,141 516 529
Sales and office occupations........................................ 9,946 9,651 715 737
Sales and related occupations..................................... 6,025 5,645 769 788
Office and administrative support occupations..................... 3,921 4,006 635 651
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations........ 11,741 11,138 677 701
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations........................ 548 560 340 407
Construction and extraction occupations........................... 7,028 6,209 662 675
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations................. 4,165 4,369 732 772
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations......... 11,457 12,007 606 632
Production occupations............................................ 5,627 5,908 630 660
Transportation and material moving occupations.................... 5,830 6,099 584 612
Women
Management, professional, and related occupations................... 20,284 20,427 846 890
Management, business, and financial operations occupations........ 7,561 7,503 872 954
Professional and related occupations.............................. 12,724 12,924 832 859
Service occupations................................................. 6,996 7,086 395 408
Sales and office occupations........................................ 15,802 15,923 539 578
Sales and related occupations..................................... 4,692 4,675 494 508
Office and administrative support occupations..................... 11,110 11,248 557 591
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations........ 439 495 512 609
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations........................ 109 128 346 363
Construction and extraction occupations........................... 136 165 497 740
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations................. 194 202 708 774
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations......... 3,315 3,252 431 469
Production occupations............................................ 2,306 2,461 434 462
Transportation and material moving occupations.................... 1,009 791 423 486
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 4. Quartiles and selected deciles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected
characteristics, first quarter 2008 averages, not seasonally adjusted
Number of Upper limit of:
workers
Characteristic (in
thousands) First First Second Third Ninth
decile quartile quartile quartile decile
(median)
SEX, RACE, AND HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY
Total, 16 years and over....................................... 106,507 $344 $481 $719 $1,112 $1,653
Men.......................................................... 59,324 371 515 790 1,240 1,875
Women........................................................ 47,182 321 436 637 955 1,386
White........................................................ 85,721 354 494 742 1,138 1,694
Men........................................................ 48,810 381 538 822 1,264 1,886
Women...................................................... 36,911 328 449 652 965 1,402
Black or African American.................................... 12,922 307 402 582 857 1,254
Men........................................................ 6,101 319 419 604 896 1,328
Women...................................................... 6,821 299 389 556 822 1,200
Asian........................................................ 5,297 360 521 842 1,368 1,921
Men........................................................ 2,981 390 550 939 1,523 2,173
Women...................................................... 2,316 319 491 754 1,148 1,686
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity................................. 15,588 297 379 520 777 1,174
Men........................................................ 9,819 307 389 538 814 1,273
Women...................................................... 5,769 282 358 501 719 1,037
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
Total, 25 years and over....................................... 96,088 366 507 757 1,156 1,734
Less than a high school diploma.............................. 7,998 281 338 435 597 821
High school graduates, no college (1)........................ 27,866 331 433 615 873 1,196
Some college or associate degree............................. 26,207 381 510 715 1,017 1,416
Bachelor's degree and higher (2)............................. 34,017 558 761 1,108 1,617 2,297
Bachelor's degree only..................................... 22,033 516 714 1,012 1,495 2,081
Advanced degree............................................ 11,984 642 890 1,259 1,865 2,659
Men, 25 years and over....................................... 53,436 392 567 848 1,302 1,903
Less than a high school diploma............................ 5,520 293 366 479 637 898
High school graduates, no college (1)...................... 15,986 375 497 701 988 1,336
Some college or associate degree........................... 13,843 422 588 819 1,162 1,563
Bachelor's degree and higher (2)........................... 18,087 609 874 1,274 1,883 2,698
Bachelor's degree only................................... 11,681 582 801 1,170 1,730 2,402
Advanced degree.......................................... 6,406 732 1,000 1,493 2,116 3,080
Women, 25 years and over..................................... 42,652 338 464 666 989 1,438
Less than a high school diploma............................ 2,478 250 303 375 496 633
High school graduates, no college (1)...................... 11,880 302 388 518 713 963
Some college or associate degree........................... 12,364 351 459 624 876 1,163
Bachelor's degree and higher (2)........................... 15,930 509 682 950 1,340 1,838
Bachelor's degree only................................... 10,352 484 634 886 1,238 1,733
Advanced degree.......................................... 5,578 603 807 1,081 1,487 1,988
1 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
2 Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees.
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. Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because
data are not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.
Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
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
2007 2008 2007 2008
SEX AND AGE
Total, 16 years and over............................................ 22,369 22,195 $211 $216
Men, 16 years and over............................................ 7,172 6,975 199 207
16 to 24 years.................................................. 3,572 3,375 150 161
25 years and over............................................... 3,600 3,600 273 272
Women, 16 years and over.......................................... 15,197 15,220 216 221
16 to 24 years.................................................. 4,637 4,412 152 156
25 years and over............................................... 10,560 10,808 259 258
RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY, AND SEX
White............................................................. 18,896 18,638 211 218
Men............................................................. 5,987 5,800 198 208
Women........................................................... 12,909 12,838 217 223
Black or African American......................................... 2,071 2,111 206 207
Men............................................................. 685 710 199 209
Women........................................................... 1,386 1,401 209 206
Asian............................................................. 815 879 237 220
Men............................................................. 281 283 233 211
Women........................................................... 534 596 240 225
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity...................................... 2,581 2,647 203 212
Men............................................................. 954 995 221 222
Women........................................................... 1,627 1,652 195 206
NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are
not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population
controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
United States Department of Labor
