Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 01-102 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, April 18, 2001 USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: FIRST QUARTER 2001 Median weekly earnings of the nation's 99.1 million full-time wage and salary workers were $592 in the first quarter of 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 3.0 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 3.4 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 $508 per week, or 76.0 percent of the $668 median for men. The female-to-male earnings ratios were higher among Hispanics (88.9 percent) and blacks (87.1 percent) than among whites (74.8 percent). (See table 1.) --Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $505 per week, 72.7 percent of the median for white men ($695). The difference was much less among women, as black women's median earnings ($440) were 84.6 percent of those for their white counterparts ($520). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($407) were lower than those of blacks ($477) and whites ($610). (See table 1.) --Among men, the $809 median weekly earnings level of 45- to 54-year-olds was the highest of any age group. Among women, earnings also were highest for those 45 to 54 years old ($570), while 55- to 64-year-olds had the second-highest earnings ($549). (See table 2.) --Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in managerial and professional specialty occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$1,029 for men and $731 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 $371, compared with $513 for high school grad- uates (no college) and $922 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 $2,434 or more per week, compared with $1,663 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 50,000 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 2000 2001 I I I I 2000 2001 2000 2001 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 98,223 99,054 $575 $592 $327 $325 Men, 16 years and over................................. 55,088 55,382 649 668 369 367 16 to 24 years....................................... 6,109 6,195 369 384 210 211 25 years and over.................................... 48,979 49,187 697 718 396 394 Women, 16 years and over............................... 43,135 43,673 488 508 277 279 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,659 4,831 341 358 194 197 25 years and over.................................... 38,476 38,842 511 535 290 294 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 81,205 81,758 590 610 335 335 Men.................................................. 46,579 46,862 672 695 382 381 Women................................................ 34,625 34,896 497 520 282 286 Black.................................................. 12,331 12,527 459 477 261 262 Men.................................................. 5,900 5,899 496 505 282 277 Women................................................ 6,430 6,628 422 440 240 241 Hispanic origin........................................ 11,423 11,627 395 407 224 223 Men.................................................. 7,096 7,083 419 424 238 233 Women................................................ 4,328 4,543 355 377 202 207 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 2001 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......................................... 99,054 $592 55,382 $668 43,673 $508 16 to 24 years.......................................... 11,026 374 6,195 384 4,831 358 16 to 19 years........................................ 1,929 297 1,112 313 817 276 20 to 24 years........................................ 9,096 393 5,082 403 4,014 380 25 years and over....................................... 88,028 624 49,187 718 38,842 535 25 to 54 years........................................ 76,953 625 43,007 717 33,946 535 25 to 34 years...................................... 24,687 578 14,070 622 10,617 513 35 to 44 years...................................... 28,827 647 16,373 747 12,454 534 45 to 54 years...................................... 23,439 683 12,564 809 10,874 570 55 years and over..................................... 11,076 613 6,180 725 4,896 534 55 to 64 years...................................... 9,633 627 5,349 743 4,285 549 65 years and over................................... 1,442 488 831 533 611 390 White 16 years and over......................................... 81,758 610 46,862 695 34,896 520 16 to 24 years.......................................... 9,084 381 5,244 391 3,840 365 25 years and over....................................... 72,674 650 41,618 743 31,056 553 25 to 54 years........................................ 63,174 651 36,231 742 26,943 553 55 years and over..................................... 9,500 639 5,387 752 4,113 556 Black 16 years and over......................................... 12,527 477 5,899 505 6,628 440 16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,477 328 700 327 777 330 25 years and over....................................... 11,050 500 5,199 526 5,851 467 25 to 54 years........................................ 9,890 501 4,612 524 5,278 472 55 years and over..................................... 1,160 483 587 540 573 423 Hispanic origin 16 years and over......................................... 11,627 407 7,083 424 4,543 377 16 to 24 years.......................................... 2,086 316 1,337 319 749 307 25 years and over....................................... 9,541 439 5,746 478 3,795 397 25 to 54 years........................................ 8,671 441 5,179 480 3,492 395 55 years and over..................................... 870 423 567 428 303 418 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 2000 2001 2000 2001 TOTAL Managerial and professional specialty.................... 31,508 31,990 $827 $853 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 15,433 15,754 820 865 Professional specialty................................. 16,074 16,236 833 844 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 27,980 28,412 505 519 Technicians and related support........................ 3,726 3,715 637 660 Sales occupations...................................... 9,753 10,239 558 579 Administrative support, including clerical............. 14,500 14,458 467 483 Service occupations...................................... 10,529 11,025 357 367 Private household...................................... 318 380 258 265 Protective service..................................... 1,976 2,101 619 613 Service, except private household and protective....... 8,235 8,544 329 330 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 11,945 12,120 608 622 Mechanics and repairers................................ 4,160 4,143 660 654 Construction trades.................................... 4,221 4,405 593 603 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 3,564 3,572 566 619 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 14,756 14,312 445 454 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 6,464 6,220 428 446 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 4,407 4,108 528 556 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 3,885 3,984 378 390 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,506 1,196 320 370 Men Managerial and professional specialty.................... 15,959 16,179 976 1,029 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 7,986 8,331 981 1,059 Professional specialty................................. 7,973 7,848 972 1,009 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 10,701 10,708 661 681 Technicians and related support........................ 1,930 1,905 747 796 Sales occupations...................................... 5,342 5,617 679 725 Administrative support, including clerical............. 3,429 3,186 588 583 Service occupations...................................... 5,143 5,420 418 429 Private household...................................... 17 23 (1) (1) Protective service..................................... 1,676 1,755 646 639 Service, except private household and protective....... 3,450 3,642 359 366 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 10,869 11,016 623 643 Mechanics and repairers................................ 4,023 3,921 660 661 Construction trades.................................... 4,128 4,324 595 605 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 2,717 2,771 624 684 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 11,144 11,022 488 491 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 4,087 4,030 495 504 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 4,028 3,731 548 576 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 3,029 3,261 395 405 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,273 1,036 329 376 Women Managerial and professional specialty.................... 15,549 15,811 702 731 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 7,447 7,423 674 710 Professional specialty................................. 8,102 8,387 725 745 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 17,279 17,704 446 469 Technicians and related support........................ 1,796 1,810 524 556 Sales occupations...................................... 4,412 4,622 410 423 Administrative support, including clerical............. 11,071 11,272 443 464 Service occupations...................................... 5,386 5,605 317 319 Private household...................................... 301 357 251 269 Protective service..................................... 300 346 507 483 Service, except private household and protective....... 4,785 4,902 314 317 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 1,076 1,104 421 466 Mechanics and repairers................................ 137 222 644 556 Construction trades.................................... 92 81 (1) (1) Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 847 801 402 432 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 3,612 3,290 348 361 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 2,377 2,190 349 368 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 379 377 399 412 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 855 723 320 317 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 233 159 279 344 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 2001 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.................................. 99,054 $287 $392 $592 $894 $1,332 Men..................................................... 55,382 309 434 668 1,012 1,502 Women................................................... 43,673 267 350 508 748 1,062 White................................................... 81,758 293 404 610 922 1,364 Men................................................... 46,862 315 456 695 1,041 1,537 Women................................................. 34,896 274 364 520 761 1,088 Black................................................... 12,527 257 328 477 686 997 Men................................................... 5,899 281 359 505 732 1,077 Women................................................. 6,628 241 308 440 643 928 Hispanic................................................ 11,627 241 295 407 609 884 Men................................................... 7,083 252 307 424 659 947 Women................................................. 4,543 229 275 377 538 778 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Total, 25 years and over................................ 88,028 301 417 624 940 1,384 Less than a high school diploma....................... 7,784 232 284 371 505 704 High school graduates, no college..................... 27,571 286 375 513 732 993 Some college or associate degree...................... 25,012 318 433 613 862 1,164 College graduates, total.............................. 27,661 455 640 922 1,357 1,893 Bachelor's degree only.............................. 18,183 419 602 857 1,248 1,750 Advanced degree..................................... 9,478 562 743 1,058 1,552 2,161 Men, 25 years and over................................ 49,187 336 483 718 1,071 1,559 Less than a high school diploma..................... 4,873 254 309 417 569 782 High school graduates, no college................... 15,645 322 427 597 838 1,112 Some college or associate degree.................... 13,287 364 501 714 980 1,315 College graduates, total............................ 15,382 508 736 1,086 1,559 2,141 Bachelor's degree only............................ 10,064 483 688 989 1,441 1,914 Advanced degree................................... 5,318 605 841 1,248 1,817 2,434 Women, 25 years and over.............................. 38,842 278 371 535 773 1,107 Less than a high school diploma..................... 2,911 211 253 306 404 511 High school graduates, no college................... 11,926 256 323 426 591 771 Some college or associate degree.................... 11,725 293 387 522 716 958 College graduates, total............................ 12,279 407 584 774 1,072 1,498 Bachelor's degree only............................ 8,120 380 534 731 999 1,386 Advanced degree................................... 4,160 518 667 897 1,191 1,663 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 2000 2001 2000 2001 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 21,222 21,431 $164 $175 Men, 16 years and over................................. 6,824 6,799 153 163 16 to 24 years....................................... 3,867 3,696 123 129 25 years and over.................................... 2,957 3,103 207 221 Women, 16 years and over............................... 14,398 14,632 170 181 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,633 4,752 123 127 25 years and over.................................... 9,765 9,880 200 214 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 18,301 18,488 165 175 Men.................................................. 5,724 5,654 152 163 Women................................................ 12,576 12,835 171 182 Black.................................................. 1,997 1,959 158 170 Men.................................................. 711 737 150 151 Women................................................ 1,286 1,222 163 181 Hispanic origin........................................ 1,896 2,027 175 175 Men.................................................. 640 716 183 174 Women................................................ 1,256 1,310 170 176 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.