Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 00-110 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Wednesday, April 19, 2000 USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: FIRST QUARTER 2000 Median weekly earnings of the nation's 98.2 million full-time wage and salary workers were $575 in the first quarter of 2000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 6.9 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 3.2 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 $488 per week, or 75.2 percent of the $649 median for men. The female-to-male earnings ratios were higher among blacks (85.1 percent) and Hispanics (84.7 percent) than among whites (74.0 percent). (See table 1.) --Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $496 per week, 73.8 percent of the median for white men ($672). The difference was much less among women, as black women's median earnings ($422) were 84.9 percent of those for their white counterparts ($497). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($395) were lower than those of blacks ($459) and whites ($590). (See table 1.) --Among men, the $784 median weekly earnings level of 45- to 54-year- olds was the highest of any age group. Men age 55 to 64 had the second- highest earnings level ($731). Among women, earnings also were highest for those 45 to 54 years ($554), while 35- to 44-year-olds had the second- highest earnings ($520). (See table 2.) --Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in managerial and professional specialty occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$976 for men and $702 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 $363, compared with $502 for high school graduates (no college) and $891 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 $2,413 or more per week, compared with $1,536 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). 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. - 2 - 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 1999 2000 I I I I 1999 2000 1999 2000 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 95,648 98,223 $538 $575 $315 $327 Men, 16 years and over................................. 54,054 55,088 612 649 358 369 16 to 24 years....................................... 5,888 6,109 360 369 211 210 25 years and over.................................... 48,167 48,979 655 697 384 396 Women, 16 years and over............................... 41,593 43,135 468 488 274 277 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,336 4,659 331 341 194 194 25 years and over.................................... 37,257 38,476 488 511 286 290 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 79,295 81,205 560 590 329 335 Men.................................................. 45,914 46,579 629 672 368 382 Women................................................ 33,380 34,625 477 497 280 282 Black.................................................. 11,935 12,331 443 459 260 261 Men.................................................. 5,735 5,900 483 496 283 282 Women................................................ 6,201 6,430 408 422 239 240 Hispanic origin........................................ 10,620 11,423 387 395 227 224 Men.................................................. 6,702 7,096 407 419 238 238 Women................................................ 3,917 4,328 348 355 204 202 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. Beginning in January 2000, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. Table 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, first quarter 2000 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......................................... 98,223 $575 55,088 $649 43,135 $488 16 to 24 years.......................................... 10,768 357 6,109 369 4,659 341 16 to 19 years........................................ 1,843 291 1,148 302 696 276 20 to 24 years........................................ 8,924 373 4,961 386 3,963 357 25 years and over....................................... 87,456 607 48,979 697 38,476 511 25 to 54 years........................................ 76,852 607 42,932 695 33,920 515 25 to 34 years...................................... 25,182 544 14,299 602 10,883 490 35 to 44 years...................................... 28,822 624 16,397 723 12,425 520 45 to 54 years...................................... 22,849 667 12,237 784 10,612 554 55 years and over..................................... 10,603 605 6,047 712 4,556 483 55 to 64 years...................................... 9,301 618 5,262 731 4,039 494 65 years and over................................... 1,302 453 785 519 517 386 White 16 years and over......................................... 81,205 590 46,579 672 34,625 497 16 to 24 years.......................................... 8,956 362 5,196 378 3,760 340 25 years and over....................................... 72,249 623 41,384 719 30,865 520 25 to 54 years........................................ 63,158 623 36,129 717 27,029 523 55 years and over..................................... 9,090 622 5,255 734 3,836 497 Black 16 years and over......................................... 12,331 459 5,900 496 6,430 422 16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,408 327 685 322 723 334 25 years and over....................................... 10,922 488 5,215 530 5,707 448 25 to 54 years........................................ 9,884 492 4,698 532 5,186 458 55 years and over..................................... 1,038 450 518 517 521 383 Hispanic origin 16 years and over......................................... 11,423 395 7,096 419 4,328 355 16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,942 309 1,285 316 657 292 25 years and over....................................... 9,481 420 5,811 476 3,670 371 25 to 54 years........................................ 8,691 421 5,275 478 3,416 373 55 years and over..................................... 790 407 536 449 254 353 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. Beginning in January 2000, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. 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 1999 2000 1999 2000 TOTAL Managerial and professional specialty.................... 30,209 31,508 $776 $827 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 14,846 15,433 768 820 Professional specialty................................. 15,362 16,074 784 833 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 26,629 27,980 483 505 Technicians and related support........................ 3,391 3,726 615 637 Sales occupations...................................... 9,235 9,753 524 558 Administrative support, including clerical............. 14,003 14,500 441 467 Service occupations...................................... 10,725 10,529 341 357 Private household...................................... 399 318 235 258 Protective service..................................... 2,135 1,976 571 619 Service, except private household and protective....... 8,191 8,235 315 329 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 11,804 11,945 588 608 Mechanics and repairers................................ 4,419 4,160 619 660 Construction trades.................................... 3,954 4,221 554 593 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 3,431 3,564 580 566 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 15,015 14,756 421 445 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 7,116 6,464 414 428 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 4,237 4,407 497 528 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 3,662 3,885 361 378 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,267 1,506 320 320 Men Managerial and professional specialty.................... 15,268 15,959 939 976 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 7,799 7,986 949 981 Professional specialty................................. 7,470 7,973 929 972 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 10,194 10,701 618 661 Technicians and related support........................ 1,680 1,930 706 747 Sales occupations...................................... 5,205 5,342 646 679 Administrative support, including clerical............. 3,309 3,429 524 588 Service occupations...................................... 5,227 5,143 406 418 Private household...................................... 20 17 (1) (1) Protective service..................................... 1,810 1,676 589 646 Service, except private household and protective....... 3,397 3,450 335 359 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 10,810 10,869 603 623 Mechanics and repairers................................ 4,246 4,023 621 660 Construction trades.................................... 3,891 4,128 557 595 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 2,674 2,717 634 624 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 11,476 11,144 460 488 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 4,592 4,087 479 495 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 3,898 4,028 508 548 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 2,985 3,029 370 395 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,079 1,273 337 329 Women Managerial and professional specialty.................... 14,940 15,549 662 702 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 7,048 7,447 633 674 Professional specialty................................. 7,893 8,102 694 725 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 16,435 17,279 427 446 Technicians and related support........................ 1,711 1,796 520 524 Sales occupations...................................... 4,030 4,412 404 410 Administrative support, including clerical............. 10,694 11,071 421 443 Service occupations...................................... 5,498 5,386 306 317 Private household...................................... 379 301 230 251 Protective service..................................... 325 300 495 507 Service, except private household and protective....... 4,794 4,785 304 314 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 994 1,076 413 421 Mechanics and repairers................................ 173 137 544 644 Construction trades.................................... 63 92 (1) (1) Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 758 847 381 402 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 3,539 3,612 329 348 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 2,523 2,377 331 349 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 338 379 367 399 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 677 855 312 320 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 188 233 261 279 1 Data not shown where base is less than 100,000. Beginning in January 2000, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. Table 4. Quartiles and selected deciles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, first quarter 2000 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.................................. 98,223 $280 $380 $575 $858 $1,249 Men..................................................... 55,088 301 423 649 969 1,434 Women................................................... 43,135 258 337 488 719 1,000 White................................................... 81,205 284 391 590 882 1,285 Men................................................... 46,579 308 443 672 994 1,460 Women................................................. 34,625 259 343 497 731 1,017 Black................................................... 12,331 257 326 459 686 953 Men................................................... 5,900 271 349 496 745 1,040 Women................................................. 6,430 249 313 422 626 870 Hispanic................................................ 11,423 232 289 395 611 890 Men................................................... 7,096 248 305 419 661 954 Women................................................. 4,328 209 262 355 524 758 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Total, 25 years and over................................ 87,456 293 406 607 899 1,312 Less than a high school diploma....................... 8,230 223 279 363 513 709 High school graduates, no college..................... 27,641 281 363 502 708 952 Some college or associate degree...................... 24,343 307 416 592 825 1,114 College graduates, total.............................. 27,242 449 621 891 1,264 1,808 Bachelor's degree only.............................. 18,023 429 590 831 1,163 1,621 Advanced degree..................................... 9,220 522 731 1,016 1,450 2,081 Men, 25 years and over................................ 48,979 325 472 697 1,015 1,479 Less than a high school diploma..................... 5,242 248 306 413 593 777 High school graduates, no college................... 15,427 313 422 590 811 1,068 Some college or associate degree.................... 12,941 352 493 691 934 1,262 College graduates, total............................ 15,370 490 713 1,016 1,450 2,019 Bachelor's degree only............................ 10,101 468 662 953 1,352 1,873 Advanced degree................................... 5,269 588 828 1,168 1,734 2,413 Women, 25 years and over.............................. 38,476 269 357 511 747 1,031 Less than a high school diploma..................... 2,988 191 241 300 383 496 High school graduates, no college................... 12,214 254 315 418 573 752 Some college or associate degree.................... 11,402 283 372 496 678 894 College graduates, total............................ 11,873 413 564 759 1,022 1,381 Bachelor's degree only............................ 7,922 398 521 714 952 1,255 Advanced degree................................... 3,951 485 640 886 1,160 1,536 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. Beginning in January 2000, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey. 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 1999 2000 1999 2000 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 21,671 21,222 $158 $164 Men, 16 years and over................................. 6,672 6,824 149 153 16 to 24 years....................................... 3,619 3,867 117 123 25 years and over.................................... 3,052 2,957 206 207 Women, 16 years and over............................... 14,999 14,398 163 170 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,818 4,633 113 123 25 years and over.................................... 10,180 9,765 197 200 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 18,710 18,301 160 165 Men.................................................. 5,628 5,724 149 152 Women................................................ 13,082 12,576 164 171 Black.................................................. 2,119 1,997 149 158 Men.................................................. 731 711 146 150 Women................................................ 1,388 1,286 150 163 Hispanic origin........................................ 1,939 1,896 157 175 Men.................................................. 667 640 154 183 Women................................................ 1,272 1,256 158 170 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. Beginning in January 2000, data reflect revised population controls used in the household survey.