TEXT Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, quarterly averages, Table 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, second Table 3. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by occupation and sex, quarterly averages, not Table 4. Quartiles and selected deciles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected Table 5. Median usual weekly earnings of part-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, quarterly Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 96-291 606-6373 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 606-5902 Thursday, July 18, 1996 USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: SECOND QUARTER 1996 Median weekly earnings of the nation's 91.0 million full-time wage and salary workers were $486 in the second quarter of 1996, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This figure was 2.3 percent higher than in the second quarter of 1995; the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose by 2.9 percent 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 explanatory note.) Highlights from the second-quarter data are: ---Median weekly earnings for women who worked full time were $414, or 74.7 percent of the $554 for men. Among whites, women earned 73.5 percent of what men earned. The female-male ratio was higher among blacks (85.9 percent) and Hispanics (89.4 percent). (See table 1.) ---Median weekly earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $411 per week, 71.1 percent of the median for white men ($578). The racial differences were much less among women, as black women's median earnings ($353) were 83.1 percent of that of white women ($425). Median earnings of Hispanics ($336) and blacks ($383) were considerably lower than those of whites ($502). (See table 1.) ---The highest median weekly earnings for full-time workers were $701 for men in the 45- to 54-year-age group, with the median for 55- to 64-year- old men next, at $649. Among women, the highest-earning age groups were 35- to 44-year-olds ($469) and 45- to 54-year-olds ($468). (See table 2.) ---Among the major occupational groups, persons employed in managerial and professional specialty occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$867 for men and $609 for women. Men and women in service and farm jobs continued to earn the least. (See table 3.) ---Median weekly earnings for full-time workers age 25 and over with less than a high school diploma were $317, compared with $443 for high school graduates (no college) and $758 for college graduates. Among college graduates with advanced degrees (master's degree and above), the highest 10 percent of male workers earned more than $1,985; their female counterparts earned more than $1,449. (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 Bureau of the Census from a scientifically 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: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577. Reliability In any sample survey, variations in the data can occur by chance because a sample, rather than the whole of the population, is surveyed. The standard error is a measure of such potential variation. The chances are about 68 out of 100 that an estimate from the survey differs from a figure that would be obtained from a complete census by less than one standard error. The chances are about 90 out of 100 that such a difference would be less than 1.6 standard errors. All statements of comparisons in the text of this release are significant at 1.6 or more standard errors. 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, taxes, 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 self-employed persons whose 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 of 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 ___________________________________________ | 1995 | 1996 | | | | | | | II | II | II | II | | | 1995 | 1996 | 1995 | 1996 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | | | SEX AND AGE | | | | | | | | | | | | Total, 16 years and over..................................| 89,505 | 90,956 | $475 | $486 | $301 | $300 | | | | | | Men, 16 years and over.................................| 51,418 | 52,140 | 533 | 554 | 338 | 341 16 to 24 years.......................................| 6,335 | 6,079 | 298 | 302 | 189 | 186 25 years and over....................................| 45,083 | 46,061 | 587 | 599 | 372 | 369 | | | | | | Women, 16 years and over...............................| 38,087 | 38,817 | 404 | 414 | 256 | 255 16 to 24 years.......................................| 4,590 | 4,337 | 270 | 273 | 171 | 168 25 years and over....................................| 33,496 | 34,480 | 427 | 439 | 271 | 271 | | | | | | RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX | | | | | | | | | | | | White..................................................| 75,060 | 76,144 | 491 | 502 | 311 | 309 Men..................................................| 43,884 | 44,604 | 562 | 578 | 356 | 356 Women................................................| 31,175 | 31,540 | 412 | 425 | 261 | 262 | | | | | | Black..................................................| 10,572 | 10,864 | 380 | 383 | 241 | 236 Men..................................................| 5,261 | 5,314 | 407 | 411 | 258 | 253 Women................................................| 5,310 | 5,550 | 354 | 353 | 224 | 218 | | | | | | Hispanic origin........................................| 8,674 | 8,790 | 327 | 336 | 207 | 207 Men..................................................| 5,649 | 5,706 | 342 | 350 | 217 | 216 Women................................................| 3,025 | 3,084 | 307 | 313 | 195 | 193 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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. Publication of data on family relationship has been temporarily suspended due to editing and weighting problems associated with the redesigned survey. Table 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, second quarter 1996 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.........................................| 90,956 | $486 | 52,140 | $554 | 38,817 | $414 16 to 24 years..........................................| 10,416 | 291 | 6,079 | 302 | 4,337 | 273 16 to 19 years........................................| 1,942 | 236 | 1,178 | 245 | 764 | 222 20 to 24 years........................................| 8,474 | 307 | 4,901 | 317 | 3,573 | 289 25 years and over.......................................| 80,541 | 518 | 46,061 | 599 | 34,480 | 439 25 to 54 years........................................| 71,617 | 518 | 40,853 | 595 | 30,764 | 445 25 to 34 years......................................| 25,724 | 459 | 14,970 | 498 | 10,754 | 410 35 to 44 years......................................| 26,646 | 555 | 15,281 | 624 | 11,365 | 469 45 to 54 years......................................| 19,247 | 595 | 10,602 | 701 | 8,645 | 468 55 years and over.....................................| 8,924 | 515 | 5,207 | 635 | 3,716 | 401 55 to 64 years......................................| 7,856 | 529 | 4,559 | 649 | 3,297 | 411 65 years and over...................................| 1,067 | 378 | 648 | 431 | 419 | 337 | | | | | | White | | | | | | | | | | | | 16 years and over.........................................| 76,144 | 502 | 44,604 | 578 | 31,540 | 425 16 to 24 years..........................................| 8,742 | 295 | 5,167 | 305 | 3,575 | 276 25 years and over.......................................| 67,402 | 541 | 39,437 | 616 | 27,965 | 455 25 to 54 years........................................| 59,670 | 542 | 34,846 | 612 | 24,825 | 461 55 years and over.....................................| 7,732 | 536 | 4,591 | 658 | 3,140 | 409 | | | | | | Black | | | | | | | | | | | | 16 years and over.........................................| 10,864 | 383 | 5,314 | 411 | 5,550 | 353 16 to 24 years..........................................| 1,235 | 269 | 657 | 284 | 578 | 254 25 years and over.......................................| 9,629 | 403 | 4,657 | 443 | 4,972 | 372 25 to 54 years........................................| 8,775 | 403 | 4,224 | 442 | 4,552 | 375 55 years and over.....................................| 854 | 399 | 433 | 449 | 420 | 336 | | | | | | Hispanic origin | | | | | | | | | | | | 16 years and over.........................................| 8,790 | 336 | 5,706 | 350 | 3,084 | 313 16 to 24 years..........................................| 1,461 | 255 | 972 | 262 | 490 | 244 25 years and over.......................................| 7,329 | 369 | 4,735 | 382 | 2,594 | 333 25 to 54 years........................................| 6,785 | 370 | 4,377 | 384 | 2,408 | 331 55 years and over.....................................| 544 | 359 | 358 | 367 | 186 | 344 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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. Publication of data on family relationship has been temporarily suspended due to editing and weighting problems associated with the redesigned 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 |_______________________________________________________________ | | | | | II | II | II | II | 1995 | 1996 | 1995 | 1996 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | TOTAL | | | | | | | | Managerial and professional specialty....................| 26,225 | 27,282 | $708 | $718 Executive, administrative, and managerial..............| 12,756 | 13,335 | 686 | 705 Professional specialty.................................| 13,469 | 13,947 | 722 | 729 Technical, sales, and administrative support.............| 26,035 | 26,058 | 427 | 438 Technicians and related support........................| 3,264 | 3,233 | 576 | 566 Sales occupations......................................| 8,932 | 8,864 | 458 | 478 Administrative support, including clerical.............| 13,839 | 13,961 | 400 | 404 Service occupations......................................| 9,790 | 10,085 | 296 | 303 Private household......................................| 310 | 303 | 176 | 224 Protective service.....................................| 1,948 | 1,850 | 544 | 524 Service, except private household and protective.......| 7,532 | 7,932 | 274 | 285 Precision production, craft, and repair..................| 10,924 | 10,832 | 509 | 527 Mechanics and repairers................................| 3,849 | 3,697 | 529 | 554 Construction trades....................................| 3,549 | 3,717 | 490 | 498 Other precision production, craft, and repair..........| 3,527 | 3,417 | 507 | 543 Operators, fabricators, and laborers.....................| 14,984 | 14,984 | 376 | 392 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors..........| 7,156 | 7,089 | 367 | 380 Transportation and material moving occupations.........| 4,072 | 4,163 | 459 | 487 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers....| 3,756 | 3,732 | 314 | 333 Farming, forestry, and fishing...........................| 1,547 | 1,716 | 285 | 286 | | | | Men | | | | | | | | Managerial and professional specialty....................| 13,634 | 14,015 | 841 | 867 Executive, administrative, and managerial..............| 7,119 | 7,240 | 837 | 865 Professional specialty.................................| 6,514 | 6,775 | 844 | 870 Technical, sales, and administrative support.............| 10,030 | 10,004 | 564 | 575 Technicians and related support........................| 1,794 | 1,620 | 643 | 649 Sales occupations......................................| 5,137 | 5,099 | 588 | 591 Administrative support, including clerical.............| 3,099 | 3,284 | 485 | 488 Service occupations......................................| 4,844 | 5,096 | 353 | 358 Private household......................................| 10 | 12 | (1) | (1) Protective service.....................................| 1,718 | 1,594 | $569 | $540 Service, except private household and protective.......| 3,116 | 3,490 | 295 | 308 Precision production, craft, and repair..................| 9,983 | 9,970 | 519 | 545 Mechanics and repairers................................| 3,703 | 3,556 | 526 | 562 Construction trades....................................| 3,480 | 3,635 | 494 | 500 Other precision production, craft, and repair..........| 2,801 | 2,779 | 559 | 585 Operators, fabricators, and laborers.....................| 11,576 | 11,538 | 406 | 427 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors..........| 4,624 | 4,511 | 418 | 444 Transportation and material moving occupations.........| 3,813 | 3,901 | 464 | 495 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers....| 3,139 | 3,126 | 320 | 352 Farming, forestry, and fishing...........................| 1,351 | 1,517 | 292 | 293 | | | | Women | | | | | | | | Managerial and professional specialty....................| 12,591 | 13,267 | 604 | 609 Executive, administrative, and managerial..............| 5,636 | 6,095 | 577 | 584 Professional specialty.................................| 6,955 | 7,172 | 623 | 634 Technical, sales, and administrative support.............| 16,006 | 16,054 | 384 | 391 Technicians and related support........................| 1,470 | 1,612 | 492 | 495 Sales occupations......................................| 3,795 | 3,765 | 322 | 336 Administrative support, including clerical.............| 10,740 | 10,677 | 386 | 392 Service occupations......................................| 4,945 | 4,989 | 260 | 270 Private household......................................| 300 | 290 | 174 | 221 Protective service.....................................| 230 | 257 | 431 | 429 Service, except private household and protective.......| 4,416 | 4,442 | 261 | 269 Precision production, craft, and repair..................| 941 | 861 | 369 | 373 Mechanics and repairers................................| 146 | 141 | 588 | 431 Construction trades....................................| 69 | 82 | (1) | (1) Other precision production, craft, and repair..........| 726 | 638 | $347 | $365 Operators, fabricators, and laborers.....................| 3,408 | 3,447 | 296 | 301 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors..........| 2,532 | 2,579 | 294 | 301 Transportation and material moving occupations.........| 259 | 261 | 378 | 372 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers....| 617 | 607 | 286 | 282 Farming, forestry, and fishing...........................| 196 | 199 | 251 | 224 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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, second quarter 1996 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..................................| 90,956 | $231 | $316 | $486 | $732 | $1,057 Men.....................................................| 52,140 | 252 | 354 | 554 | 820 | 1,183 Women...................................................| 38,817 | 212 | 288 | 414 | 610 | 861 | | | | | | White...................................................| 76,144 | 238 | 328 | 502 | 756 | 1,104 Men...................................................| 44,604 | 261 | 370 | 578 | 850 | 1,227 Women.................................................| 31,540 | 217 | 295 | 425 | 625 | 884 | | | | | | Black...................................................| 10,864 | 201 | 270 | 383 | 568 | 764 Men...................................................| 5,314 | 209 | 286 | 411 | 614 | 814 Women.................................................| 5,550 | 196 | 256 | 353 | 507 | 704 | | | | | | Hispanic................................................| 8,790 | 188 | 246 | 336 | 502 | 744 Men...................................................| 5,706 | 195 | 257 | 350 | 523 | 788 Women.................................................| 3,084 | 176 | 228 | 313 | 470 | 676 | | | | | | EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT | | | | | | | | | | | | Total, 25 years and over................................| 80,541 | 249 | 346 | 518 | 767 | 1,117 Less than a high school diploma.......................| 8,328 | 186 | 239 | 317 | 451 | 643 High school graduates, no college.....................| 26,508 | 235 | 311 | 443 | 627 | 829 Some college or associate degree......................| 21,984 | 271 | 367 | 516 | 721 | 952 College graduates, total..............................| 23,720 | 367 | 519 | 758 | 1,108 | 1,531 Bachelor's degree only..............................| 15,705 | 336 | 479 | 688 | 983 | 1,358 Advanced degree.....................................| 8,016 | 460 | 648 | 921 | 1,298 | 1,784 | | | | | | Men, 25 years and over................................| 46,061 | 280 | 396 | 599 | 870 | 1,240 Less than a high school diploma.....................| 5,694 | 199 | 263 | 355 | 506 | 704 High school graduates, no college...................| 14,854 | 277 | 375 | 520 | 718 | 937 Some college or associate degree....................| 11,967 | 297 | 418 | 598 | 806 | 1,076 College graduates, total............................| 13,546 | 402 | 604 | 882 | 1,249 | 1,756 Bachelor's degree only............................| 8,738 | 378 | 559 | 795 | 1,140 | 1,555 Advanced degree...................................| 4,808 | 501 | 726 | 1,045 | 1,456 | 1,985 | | | | | | Women, 25 years and over..............................| 34,480 | 226 | 304 | 439 | 638 | 891 Less than a high school diploma.....................| 2,634 | 164 | 206 | 269 | 340 | 457 High school graduates, no college...................| 11,654 | 208 | 274 | 362 | 493 | 657 Some college or associate degree....................| 10,017 | 247 | 324 | 448 | 606 | 789 College graduates, total............................| 10,175 | 331 | 460 | 639 | 895 | 1,170 Bachelor's degree only............................| 6,967 | 304 | 417 | 588 | 811 | 1,076 Advanced degree...................................| 3,208 | 432 | 581 | 783 | 1,047 | 1,449 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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) | Age, race, and Hispanic origin |________________________________________________________________ | | | | | II | II | II | II | 1995 | 1996 | 1995 | 1996 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | | | | SEX AND AGE | | | | | | | | Total, 16 years and over..................................| 20,047 | 20,770 | $141 | $142 | | | | Men, 16 years and over.................................| 6,193 | 6,383 | 129 | 129 16 to 24 years.......................................| 3,281 | 3,361 | 111 | 108 25 years and over....................................| 2,912 | 3,023 | 164 | 168 | | | | Women, 16 years and over...............................| 13,854 | 14,387 | 146 | 148 16 to 24 years.......................................| 4,107 | 4,390 | 106 | 111 25 years and over....................................| 9,746 | 9,996 | 168 | 171 | | | | RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX | | | | | | | | White..................................................| 17,267 | 17,926 | 141 | 144 Men..................................................| 5,167 | 5,356 | 128 | 131 Women................................................| 12,100 | 12,570 | 147 | 149 | | | | Black..................................................| 1,997 | 2,025 | 134 | 131 Men..................................................| 750 | 704 | 132 | 125 Women................................................| 1,247 | 1,321 | 135 | 134 | | | | Hispanic origin........................................| 1,672 | 1,758 | 141 | 140 Men..................................................| 614 | 664 | 145 | 143 Women................................................| 1,058 | 1,094 | 139 | 138 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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. Publication of data on family relationship has been temporarily suspended due to editing and weighting problems associated with the redesigned survey.