Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 00-203 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, July 20, 2000 USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: SECOND QUARTER 2000 Median weekly earnings of the nation's 100.2 million full-time wage and salary workers were $566 in the second quarter of 2000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This was 4.2 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 3.3 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 second-quarter data are: --Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $485 per week, or 75.8 percent of the $640 median for men. The female-to-male earnings ratios were higher among Hispanics (85.3 percent) and blacks (80.9 percent) than among whites (74.8 percent). (See table 1.) --Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $514 per week, 77.9 percent of the median for white men ($660). The difference was much less among women, as black women's median earnings ($416) were 84.2 percent of those for their white counterparts ($494). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($388) were lower than those of blacks ($467) and whites ($584). (See table 1.) --Among men, the $787 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 ($557). (See table 2.) --Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in managerial and professional specialty occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$999 for men and $697 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 $504 for high school graduates (no college) and $892 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 $2,381 or more per week, compared with $1,537 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 II II 1999 2000 II II II II 1999 2000 1999 2000 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 97,585 100,220 $543 $566 $315 $318 Men, 16 years and over................................. 55,185 56,472 617 640 359 360 16 to 24 years....................................... 6,328 6,852 344 371 199 209 25 years and over.................................... 48,858 49,620 665 694 386 390 Women, 16 years and over............................... 42,400 43,748 467 485 271 273 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,902 5,167 316 333 183 187 25 years and over.................................... 37,498 38,581 494 508 287 285 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 80,928 82,937 569 584 331 328 Men.................................................. 46,858 47,939 638 660 370 371 Women................................................ 34,070 34,997 480 494 279 278 Black.................................................. 12,116 12,603 432 467 251 263 Men.................................................. 5,822 5,950 481 514 280 289 Women................................................ 6,295 6,652 402 416 234 234 Hispanic origin........................................ 10,835 11,932 375 388 218 218 Men.................................................. 6,734 7,427 399 409 232 230 Women................................................ 4,101 4,505 343 349 199 196 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, second 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......................................... 100,220 $566 56,472 $640 43,748 $485 16 to 24 years.......................................... 12,020 352 6,852 371 5,167 333 16 to 19 years........................................ 2,349 291 1,422 304 928 270 20 to 24 years........................................ 9,670 377 5,431 391 4,240 359 25 years and over....................................... 88,200 604 49,620 694 38,581 508 25 to 54 years........................................ 77,446 607 43,622 693 33,823 511 25 to 34 years...................................... 25,401 528 14,488 592 10,913 482 35 to 44 years...................................... 28,964 629 16,628 726 12,335 516 45 to 54 years...................................... 23,081 671 12,506 787 10,576 557 55 years and over..................................... 10,755 589 5,998 704 4,757 484 55 to 64 years...................................... 9,394 602 5,229 724 4,165 500 65 years and over................................... 1,361 420 769 546 592 377 White 16 years and over......................................... 82,937 584 47,939 660 34,997 494 16 to 24 years.......................................... 10,058 360 5,944 377 4,114 340 25 years and over....................................... 72,879 621 41,995 717 30,883 518 25 to 54 years........................................ 63,541 624 36,722 717 26,819 523 55 years and over..................................... 9,337 599 5,273 724 4,064 490 Black 16 years and over......................................... 12,603 467 5,950 514 6,652 416 16 to 24 years.......................................... 1,525 315 668 319 857 310 25 years and over....................................... 11,078 492 5,282 550 5,796 436 25 to 54 years........................................ 10,094 493 4,789 549 5,304 439 55 years and over..................................... 984 476 493 559 491 409 Hispanic origin 16 years and over......................................... 11,932 388 7,427 409 4,505 349 16 to 24 years.......................................... 2,037 310 1,323 315 715 299 25 years and over....................................... 9,895 412 6,104 451 3,790 369 25 to 54 years........................................ 8,972 414 5,499 457 3,473 370 55 years and over..................................... 922 384 605 404 317 355 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 II II II II 1999 2000 1999 2000 TOTAL Managerial and professional specialty.................... 30,475 30,856 $790 $828 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 14,986 15,274 793 835 Professional specialty................................. 15,489 15,582 788 821 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 27,691 28,554 488 504 Technicians and related support........................ 3,466 3,652 620 641 Sales occupations...................................... 9,877 10,254 524 532 Administrative support, including clerical............. 14,348 14,648 446 474 Service occupations...................................... 10,817 11,446 333 349 Private household...................................... 345 447 204 264 Protective service..................................... 2,139 2,180 589 605 Service, except private household and protective....... 8,334 8,819 312 324 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 12,011 12,145 583 607 Mechanics and repairers................................ 4,289 4,254 611 641 Construction trades.................................... 4,163 4,421 559 588 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 3,559 3,471 562 585 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 15,003 15,611 422 454 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 6,724 7,019 416 446 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 4,168 4,447 514 540 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 4,111 4,145 365 385 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,588 1,609 328 325 Men Managerial and professional specialty.................... 15,513 15,658 943 999 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 8,051 8,293 954 995 Professional specialty................................. 7,462 7,365 929 1,001 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 10,697 10,874 631 653 Technicians and related support........................ 1,859 1,829 751 754 Sales occupations...................................... 5,550 5,724 666 683 Administrative support, including clerical............. 3,288 3,322 546 552 Service occupations...................................... 5,101 5,475 400 405 Private household...................................... 20 28 (1) (1) Protective service..................................... 1,800 1,845 611 636 Service, except private household and protective....... 3,280 3,602 328 351 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 10,901 10,991 598 622 Mechanics and repairers................................ 4,065 4,001 614 645 Construction trades.................................... 4,068 4,339 562 590 Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 2,768 2,651 613 649 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 11,606 12,111 473 492 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 4,343 4,611 484 498 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 3,895 4,122 526 555 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 3,368 3,378 382 401 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 1,367 1,363 335 342 Women Managerial and professional specialty.................... 14,962 15,198 675 697 Executive, administrative, and managerial.............. 6,935 6,980 659 684 Professional specialty................................. 8,027 8,217 690 708 Technical, sales, and administrative support............. 16,994 17,679 430 451 Technicians and related support........................ 1,607 1,823 516 539 Sales occupations...................................... 4,327 4,530 403 379 Administrative support, including clerical............. 11,060 11,326 426 455 Service occupations...................................... 5,716 5,971 305 313 Private household...................................... 324 419 199 263 Protective service..................................... 339 334 490 470 Service, except private household and protective....... 5,053 5,218 304 311 Precision production, craft, and repair.................. 1,110 1,154 410 439 Mechanics and repairers................................ 224 253 526 588 Construction trades.................................... 95 81 (1) (1) Other precision production, craft, and repair.......... 791 820 385 409 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..................... 3,397 3,500 332 353 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors.......... 2,381 2,408 338 353 Transportation and material moving occupations......... 273 325 352 421 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.... 743 767 318 329 Farming, forestry, and fishing........................... 221 245 300 288 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, second 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.................................. 100,220 $278 $374 $566 $854 $1,251 Men..................................................... 56,472 298 414 640 965 1,426 Women................................................... 43,748 254 330 485 705 1,014 White................................................... 82,937 282 383 584 879 1,273 Men................................................... 47,939 301 422 660 988 1,456 Women................................................. 34,997 258 339 494 719 1,033 Black................................................... 12,603 253 324 467 673 962 Men................................................... 5,950 276 363 514 738 1,019 Women................................................. 6,652 238 304 416 609 857 Hispanic................................................ 11,932 234 288 388 590 889 Men................................................... 7,427 247 302 409 619 929 Women................................................. 4,505 216 266 349 514 799 EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Total, 25 years and over................................ 88,200 292 401 604 903 1,326 Less than a high school diploma....................... 8,832 222 277 363 509 709 High school graduates, no college..................... 28,120 279 359 504 714 962 Some college or associate degree...................... 24,105 309 414 593 821 1,135 College graduates, total.............................. 27,143 441 619 892 1,304 1,842 Bachelor's degree only.............................. 18,099 412 586 823 1,181 1,704 Advanced degree..................................... 9,044 528 729 1,050 1,475 2,015 Men, 25 years and over................................ 49,620 323 468 694 1,014 1,487 Less than a high school diploma..................... 5,693 241 303 410 572 768 High school graduates, no college................... 15,830 312 416 594 817 1,055 Some college or associate degree.................... 12,849 358 487 691 938 1,260 College graduates, total............................ 15,248 499 711 1,022 1,503 2,013 Bachelor's degree only............................ 10,058 474 673 951 1,386 1,896 Advanced degree................................... 5,189 592 840 1,229 1,664 2,381 Women, 25 years and over.............................. 38,581 267 351 508 739 1,064 Less than a high school diploma..................... 3,139 196 244 302 393 514 High school graduates, no college................... 12,290 248 313 414 569 747 Some college or associate degree.................... 11,256 283 371 501 676 901 College graduates, total............................ 11,896 389 548 746 1,055 1,414 Bachelor's degree only............................ 8,041 367 507 694 969 1,342 Advanced degree................................... 3,855 486 652 868 1,173 1,537 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 II II II II 1999 2000 1999 2000 SEX AND AGE Total, 16 years and over.................................. 20,964 20,538 $161 $171 Men, 16 years and over................................. 6,716 6,458 151 158 16 to 24 years....................................... 3,807 3,718 121 132 25 years and over.................................... 2,909 2,741 210 205 Women, 16 years and over............................... 14,248 14,080 166 178 16 to 24 years....................................... 4,648 4,549 122 136 25 years and over.................................... 9,600 9,531 199 210 RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX White.................................................. 17,832 17,709 162 172 Men.................................................. 5,633 5,414 150 159 Women................................................ 12,199 12,295 167 179 Black.................................................. 2,231 1,911 156 161 Men.................................................. 782 703 151 146 Women................................................ 1,449 1,208 159 168 Hispanic origin........................................ 1,874 1,879 158 166 Men.................................................. 679 644 158 172 Women................................................ 1,194 1,235 158 163 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.