For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, October 16, 2009 USDL-09-1242
Technical information: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS
THIRD QUARTER 2009
Median weekly earnings of the nation's 100.1 million full-time wage and salary
workers were $738 in the third quarter of 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta-
tistics reported today. This was 2.5 percent higher than a year earlier. The
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) fell by 1.6 percent over
the same period.
Data on usual weekly 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 Technical Note.) Highlights from the third-quarter data are:
--Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $657 per week,
or 80.9 percent of the $812 median for men. The female-to-male earnings
ratios were higher among blacks (95.3 percent) and Hispanics (95.2 per-
cent) than among whites (80.0 percent) or Asians (82.6 percent). (See
table 1.)
--Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $622 per
week, 74.5 percent of the $835 median for white men. The difference
was smaller among women, as black women's median earnings ($593) were
88.8 percent of those for white women ($668). Overall, median earnings
of Hispanics who worked full time ($527) were lower than those of
blacks ($607), whites ($753), and Asians ($877). (See table 1.)
--Among men, those age 45 to 54 and age 55 to 64 had the highest median
weekly earnings, $944 and $979, respectively. Among women, weekly
earnings were highest for those age 35 to 44 and age 45 to 54, $720
and $727, respectively. (See table 2.)
--Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in
management, professional, and related occupations had the highest
median weekly earnings--$1,259 for men and $913 for women. Persons
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 $448, compared with $621 for high school
graduates (no college) and $1,145 for those holding at least a bach-
elor's degree. Among college graduates with advanced degrees (pro-
fessional or master's degree and above), the highest earning 10 per-
cent of male workers made $3,260 or more per week, compared with
$2,252 or more for their female counterparts. (See table 4.)
Technical Note
The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current Pop-
ulation 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 house-
holds, 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;
Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
Reliability
Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and non-
sampling 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
errors 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 on a timely basis, mistakes made by
respondents, 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 Household Data
section of the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" available on
the BLS Web site 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 in-
structed to define the term as more than half the weeks worked during
the past 4 or 5 months.
Medians (and other quantiles) of weekly earnings. The median (or
upper limit of the second quartile) is the amount which divides a
given earnings distribution into two equal groups, one having earnings
above the median and the other having earnings below the median. Ten
percent of a given distribution have earnings below the upper limit of
the first decile (90 percent have higher earnings); 25 percent have
earnings below the upper limit of the first quartile (75 percent have
higher earnings); 75 percent have earnings below the upper limit of
the third quartile (25 percent have higher earnings); and 90 percent
have earnings below the upper limit of the ninth decile (10 percent
have higher earnings).
The estimating procedure places each reported or calculated weekly
earnings value into $50-wide intervals which are centered around
multiples of $50. The actual value is estimated through the linear
interpolation of the interval in which the quantile boundary lies.
Over-the-year changes in the medians (and other quantile boundaries)
for specific groups may not necessarily be consistent with the movements
estimated for the overall quantile boundary. The most common reasons
for this possible anomaly are: (1) There could be a change in the re-
lative 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, com-
missions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates. The group includes em-
ployees 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 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
III III
2008 2009
III III III III
2008 2009 2008 2009
SEX AND AGE
Total, 16 years and over....................................... 107,194 100,060 $720 $738 $317 $330
Men, 16 years and over....................................... 60,170 55,359 796 812 350 363
16 to 24 years............................................. 6,439 5,261 446 448 196 201
25 years and over.......................................... 53,731 50,098 857 870 377 389
Women, 16 years and over..................................... 47,025 44,701 631 657 278 294
16 to 24 years............................................. 4,886 4,204 406 415 179 186
25 years and over.......................................... 42,139 40,497 666 691 293 309
RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY, AND SEX
White........................................................ 86,600 81,315 739 753 325 337
Men........................................................ 49,727 45,963 816 835 359 373
Women...................................................... 36,873 35,352 649 668 286 299
Black or African American.................................... 12,878 11,514 589 607 259 272
Men........................................................ 6,085 5,335 646 622 284 278
Women...................................................... 6,793 6,179 530 593 233 265
Asian........................................................ 5,266 4,919 854 877 376 392
Men........................................................ 3,004 2,764 960 941 422 421
Women...................................................... 2,261 2,155 723 777 318 348
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity................................. 16,095 14,586 529 527 233 236
Men........................................................ 10,197 9,203 566 539 249 241
Women...................................................... 5,898 5,383 498 513 219 229
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, third quarter 2009 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.......................................... 100,060 $738 55,359 $812 44,701 $657
16 to 24 years........................................... 9,465 429 5,261 448 4,204 415
16 to 19 years......................................... 1,380 330 819 346 561 313
20 to 24 years......................................... 8,085 458 4,442 479 3,643 435
25 years and over........................................ 90,595 774 50,098 870 40,497 691
25 to 54 years......................................... 73,185 767 40,856 849 32,329 691
25 to 34 years....................................... 23,790 678 13,499 713 10,291 637
35 to 44 years....................................... 24,295 817 13,789 912 10,506 720
45 to 54 years....................................... 25,100 836 13,568 944 11,532 727
55 years and over...................................... 17,410 813 9,242 957 8,169 693
55 to 64 years....................................... 14,884 838 7,798 979 7,086 706
65 years and over.................................... 2,526 691 1,444 791 1,083 599
White
16 years and over.......................................... 81,315 753 45,963 835 35,352 668
16 to 24 years........................................... 7,798 429 4,401 450 3,396 415
25 years and over........................................ 73,518 795 41,562 890 31,955 705
25 to 54 years......................................... 58,936 785 33,713 871 25,224 703
55 years and over...................................... 14,581 838 7,850 980 6,732 709
Black or African American
16 years and over.......................................... 11,514 607 5,335 622 6,179 593
16 to 24 years........................................... 992 411 484 425 508 396
25 years and over........................................ 10,522 627 4,852 666 5,671 609
25 to 54 years......................................... 8,756 623 4,059 649 4,698 609
55 years and over...................................... 1,766 659 793 780 973 611
Asian
16 years and over.......................................... 4,919 877 2,764 941 2,155 777
16 to 24 years........................................... 311 533 165 540 145 524
25 years and over........................................ 4,608 899 2,599 973 2,010 800
25 to 54 years......................................... 3,820 926 2,158 998 1,663 841
55 years and over...................................... 788 766 441 876 347 665
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
16 years and over.......................................... 14,586 527 9,203 539 5,383 513
16 to 24 years........................................... 1,743 385 1,057 380 686 391
25 years and over........................................ 12,843 560 8,146 577 4,697 537
25 to 54 years......................................... 11,328 554 7,241 569 4,086 534
55 years and over...................................... 1,515 612 905 665 610 566
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
III III III III
2008 2009 2008 2009
TOTAL
Management, professional, and related occupations................... 40,192 38,592 $1,041 $1,048
Management, business, and financial operations occupations........ 16,448 15,697 1,135 1,138
Professional and related occupations.............................. 23,744 22,896 1,000 1,000
Service occupations................................................. 15,475 14,699 470 471
Sales and office occupations........................................ 24,795 23,749 610 622
Sales and related occupations..................................... 9,728 9,604 657 668
Office and administrative support occupations..................... 15,067 14,144 597 606
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations........ 11,683 10,380 701 706
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations........................ 822 797 476 408
Construction and extraction occupations........................... 6,536 5,331 689 719
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations................. 4,325 4,252 779 763
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations......... 15,049 12,640 590 602
Production occupations............................................ 7,991 6,561 592 610
Transportation and material moving occupations.................... 7,058 6,079 589 594
Men
Management, professional, and related occupations................... 19,938 18,696 1,234 1,259
Management, business, and financial operations occupations........ 8,797 8,451 1,335 1,329
Professional and related occupations.............................. 11,141 10,245 1,167 1,229
Service occupations................................................. 7,637 7,497 545 515
Sales and office occupations........................................ 9,396 9,062 728 736
Sales and related occupations..................................... 5,432 5,242 787 792
Office and administrative support occupations..................... 3,965 3,820 657 648
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations........ 11,265 9,932 704 714
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations........................ 688 653 480 422
Construction and extraction occupations........................... 6,387 5,213 688 721
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations................. 4,190 4,067 781 772
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations......... 11,933 10,171 637 640
Production occupations............................................ 5,797 4,883 650 680
Transportation and material moving occupations.................... 6,136 5,288 620 609
Women
Management, professional, and related occupations................... 20,254 19,897 916 913
Management, business, and financial operations occupations........ 7,650 7,246 958 955
Professional and related occupations.............................. 12,604 12,651 886 886
Service occupations................................................. 7,838 7,201 416 426
Sales and office occupations........................................ 15,399 14,687 576 590
Sales and related occupations..................................... 4,297 4,362 524 545
Office and administrative support occupations..................... 11,103 10,325 585 598
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations........ 417 448 599 527
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations........................ 134 144 423 338
Construction and extraction occupations........................... 149 118 755 648
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations................. 134 185 685 652
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations......... 3,116 2,469 456 473
Production occupations............................................ 2,194 1,678 468 470
Transportation and material moving occupations.................... 923 791 423 478
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, third quarter 2009 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....................................... 100,060 $346 $488 $738 $1,147 $1,755
Men.......................................................... 55,359 369 518 812 1,267 1,905
Women........................................................ 44,701 328 449 657 984 1,459
White........................................................ 81,315 350 497 753 1,166 1,795
Men........................................................ 45,963 375 532 835 1,298 1,913
Women...................................................... 35,352 329 458 668 997 1,479
Black or African American.................................... 11,514 327 420 607 903 1,286
Men........................................................ 5,335 332 447 622 949 1,440
Women...................................................... 6,179 323 408 593 848 1,171
Asian........................................................ 4,919 378 546 877 1,354 1,991
Men........................................................ 2,764 396 583 941 1,539 2,209
Women...................................................... 2,155 346 511 777 1,225 1,782
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity................................. 14,586 296 376 527 806 1,250
Men........................................................ 9,203 300 386 539 836 1,308
Women...................................................... 5,383 291 358 513 761 1,147
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
Total, 25 years and over....................................... 90,595 373 517 774 1,192 1,838
Less than a high school diploma.............................. 7,278 283 341 448 615 858
High school graduates, no college (1)........................ 25,492 339 454 621 895 1,224
Some college or associate degree............................. 24,958 382 509 720 1,029 1,419
Bachelor's degree and higher (2)............................. 32,867 569 774 1,145 1,732 2,410
Bachelor's degree only..................................... 21,030 519 726 1,026 1,548 2,206
Advanced degree............................................ 11,837 672 923 1,336 1,906 2,896
Men, 25 years and over....................................... 50,098 396 573 870 1,337 1,930
Less than a high school diploma............................ 4,924 296 375 495 686 926
High school graduates, no college (1)...................... 14,806 374 501 715 1,000 1,375
Some college or associate degree........................... 12,923 419 578 824 1,164 1,562
Bachelor's degree and higher (2)........................... 17,445 602 879 1,310 1,905 2,883
Bachelor's degree only................................... 11,251 575 807 1,194 1,775 2,490
Advanced degree.......................................... 6,194 737 1,046 1,536 2,190 3,260
Women, 25 years and over..................................... 40,497 346 480 691 1,017 1,516
Less than a high school diploma............................ 2,353 260 306 382 501 626
High school graduates, no college (1)...................... 10,686 315 404 545 734 983
Some college or associate degree........................... 12,036 352 467 624 867 1,196
Bachelor's degree and higher (2)........................... 15,422 518 721 981 1,414 1,930
Bachelor's degree only................................... 9,779 492 659 905 1,273 1,857
Advanced degree.......................................... 5,643 628 841 1,161 1,641 2,252
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 per-
cent 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
III III III III
2008 2009 2008 2009
SEX AND AGE
Total, 16 years and over............................................ 22,345 24,291 $223 $229
Men, 16 years and over............................................ 7,262 8,512 212 227
16 to 24 years.................................................. 3,533 3,708 169 180
25 years and over............................................... 3,729 4,804 280 278
Women, 16 years and over.......................................... 15,083 15,779 229 230
16 to 24 years.................................................. 4,517 4,553 172 172
25 years and over............................................... 10,566 11,226 262 266
RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY, AND SEX
White........................................................... 18,677 20,308 224 230
Men......................................................... 5,926 7,038 212 229
Women....................................................... 12,751 13,270 230 231
Black or African American....................................... 2,122 2,440 214 219
Men......................................................... 782 886 206 219
Women....................................................... 1,340 1,554 218 219
Asian........................................................... 879 969 245 246
Men......................................................... 301 355 244 230
Women....................................................... 578 614 246 256
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.................................... 2,781 3,358 220 230
Men......................................................... 1,043 1,430 226 241
Women....................................................... 1,739 1,928 216 222
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
