Usual Weekly Earnings Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, October 18, 2023 		            USDL-23-2227

Technical information:  (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                        USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS
                                       THIRD QUARTER 2023


Median weekly earnings of the nation's 122.1 million full-time wage and salary workers were
$1,118 in the third quarter of 2023 (not seasonally adjusted), the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. This was 4.5 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with
a gain of 3.5 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) over the
same period.

Data on usual weekly 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 Technical Note in this news
release.) Data shown in this news release are not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise 
specified.

Highlights from the third-quarter data: 

 --Median weekly earnings of full-time workers were $1,118 in the third quarter of 2023.
   Women had median weekly earnings of $1,005, or 83.2 percent of the $1,208 median for
   men. (See table 2.) 

 --The women's-to-men's earnings ratio varied by race and ethnicity. White women earned
   82.9 percent as much as their male counterparts, compared with 91.5 percent for Black
   women, 74.7 percent for Asian women, and 87.3 percent for Hispanic women. (See table 2.)

 --Among the major race and ethnicity groups, median weekly earnings of Blacks ($918) and
   Hispanics ($885) working full-time jobs were lower than those of Whites ($1,137) and
   Asians ($1,444). By sex, median weekly earnings for Black men were $968, or 78.6 percent
   of the median for White men ($1,231). Median earnings for Hispanic men were $931, or
   75.6 percent of the median for White men. The difference was less among women, as Black
   women's median earnings were $886, or 86.8 percent of those for White women ($1,021),
   and earnings for Hispanic women were $813, or 79.6 percent of those for White women.
   Earnings of Asian men ($1,630) and women ($1,217) were higher than those of their White
   counterparts. (See table 2.) 

 --By age, usual weekly earnings were highest for men ages 35 to 64: median weekly earnings
   were $1,401 for men ages 35 to 44, $1,404 for men ages 45 to 54, and $1,395 for men ages
   55 to 64. Among women, usual weekly earnings were also highest for workers ages 35 to 64:
   median weekly earnings were $1,111 for women ages 35 to 44, $1,124 for women ages 45 to
   54, and $1,077 for women ages 55 to 64. Men and women ages 16 to 24 had the lowest median
   weekly earnings, $733 and $695, respectively. Men's and women's earnings were closer among
   younger workers than older workers; for example, women ages 16 to 24 earned 94.8 percent
   as much as men in the same age group, while the women's-to-men's earnings ratio was 78.4
   percent for those age 55 and over. (See table 3.) 

 --Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in management, professional,
   and related occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$1,840 for men and $1,350
   for women. Both men ($799) and women ($686) earned the least when employed in service 
   occupations. (See table 4.)

 --By educational attainment, full-time workers age 25 and over without a high school diploma
   had median weekly earnings of $721, compared with $905 for high school graduates (no college)
   and $1,620 for those holding a bachelor's degree and higher. Among college graduates with
   advanced degrees (master's, professional, and doctoral degrees), the highest earning 10
   percent of male workers made $4,528 or more per week, compared with $3,478 or more for their
   female counterparts. (See table 5.) 

 --Seasonally adjusted median weekly earnings were $1,118 in the third quarter of 2023, little
   changed from the previous quarter ($1,107). (See table 1.)



  ___________________________________________________________________________________________
 |											     |
 |               Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Usual Weekly Earnings Data		     |
 |											     |
 | The Usual Weekly Earnings news release for the fourth quarter of 2023, scheduled for	     |
 | release in January 2024, will incorporate annual revisions to seasonally adjusted data    |
 | for the number of full-time wage and salary workers and median weekly earnings in 	     |
 | current dollars. (See table 1.) Estimates for constant (1982-84) dollar median weekly     |
 | earnings also will be affected by revisions to the current dollar series. Seasonally      |
 | adjusted estimates back to the first quarter of 2019 will be subject to revision.	     |
 |___________________________________________________________________________________________|