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Table 5. Average annual percent growth in inflation-adjusted hourly earnings from 1978-2020 by educational attainment, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and age Average annual percent growth in hourly earnings Characteristic Ages 18 Ages 25 Ages 35 Ages 45 to 24(1) to 34 to 44 to 56(2) Total ..................................... 6.5 3.3 1.8 0.0 Less than a high school diploma ......... 2.3 1.6 1.0 -0.8 High school graduates, no college (3).... 5.5 2.1 1.5 -0.3 Some college or associate degree ........ 5.9 3.3 1.7 0.0 Bachelor's degree and higher (4)......... 9.3 5.3 2.4 0.6 Men ....................................... 7.1 3.7 1.8 -0.1 Less than a high school diploma ......... 2.3 1.7 0.5 -0.9 High school graduates, no college (3).... 6.1 2.2 1.6 -0.3 Some college or associate degree ........ 7.2 3.9 1.6 0.1 Bachelor's degree and higher (4)......... 9.6 6.3 2.6 0.5 Women ..................................... 6.0 2.8 1.8 0.0 Less than a high school diploma ......... 2.1 1.5 1.7 -0.7 High school graduates, no college (3).... 4.8 2.0 1.5 -0.3 Some college or associate degree ........ 4.8 2.7 1.8 0.1 Bachelor's degree and higher (4)......... 9.0 4.2 2.3 0.7 White non-Hispanic ........................ 6.9 3.4 1.8 0.0 Less than a high school diploma ......... 2.9 1.8 1.0 -1.0 High school graduates, no college (3).... 5.8 2.1 1.6 -0.4 Some college or associate degree ........ 5.7 3.3 1.7 0.0 Bachelor's degree and higher (4)......... 9.6 5.3 2.4 0.7 Black non-Hispanic ........................ 4.6 2.9 1.5 0.0 Less than a high school diploma ......... 0.1 0.8 0.9 0.0 High school graduates, no college (3).... 3.7 2.0 1.6 0.1 Some college or associate degree ........ 6.2 3.3 1.5 -0.2 Bachelor's degree and higher (4)......... 5.9 5.3 1.7 0.0 Hispanic or Latino ........................ 5.9 2.7 1.9 -0.1 Less than a high school diploma ......... 1.5 1.8 1.1 -1.0 High school graduates, no college (3).... 5.9 2.3 1.0 -0.3 Some college or associate degree ........ 6.3 2.5 2.3 0.2 Bachelor's degree and higher (4)......... 9.7 4.8 4.5 0.6 (1) This category excludes individuals who turned age 18 before January 1, 1978. (2) This category excludes individuals who had not yet turned age 57 when interviewed in 2020-21. (3) Includes individuals with a high school diploma or equivalent. (4) Includes individuals with bachelor's, master's, professional, or doctoral degrees. Note: The CPI-U-RS was used to adjust hourly earnings to constant dollars, prior to calculating the growth rates. The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 consists of men and women who were born in the years 1957-64 and were ages 14 to 22 when first interviewed in 1979. These individuals were ages 55 to 64 in 2020-21. Educational attainment is defined as of the 2020-21 survey. Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive. Other race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically reliable estimates.