Usual Weekly Earnings Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, January 19, 2023                       USDL-23-0072

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            	
			            FOURTH QUARTER 2022            


Median weekly earnings of the nation's 118.8 million full-time wage and salary workers
were $1,085 in the fourth quarter of 2022 (not seasonally adjusted), the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. This was 7.4 percent higher than a year earlier,
compared with a gain of 7.1 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 fourth-quarter data: 

 --Median weekly earnings of full-time workers were $1,085 in the fourth quarter of
   2022. Women had median weekly earnings of $975, or 82.9 percent of the $1,176 
   median for men. (See table 2.) 

 --The women's-to-men's earnings ratio varied by race and ethnicity. White women 
   earned 83.0 percent as much as their male counterparts, compared with 90.0 percent
   for Black women, 81.5 percent for Asian women, and 86.5 percent for Hispanic women.
   (See table 2.) 

 --Among the major race and ethnicity groups, median weekly earnings of Blacks ($896)
   and Hispanics ($837) working full-time jobs were lower than those of Whites ($1,111)
   and Asians ($1,496). By sex, median weekly earnings for Black men were $951, or 
   79.6 percent of the median for White men ($1,194). Median earnings for Hispanic men
   were $895, or 75.0 percent of the median for White men. The difference was less 
   among women, as Black women's median earnings were $856, or 86.4 percent of those 
   for White women ($991), and earnings for Hispanic women were $774, or 78.1 percent 
   of those for White women. Earnings of Asian men ($1,647) and women ($1,342) 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 $1,305 for men ages 35 to 44, $1,355 for men ages 45 to 54, and $1,329
   for men ages 55 to 64. Among women, usual weekly earnings were also highest for
   workers ages 35 to 64: median weekly earnings were $1,099 for women ages 35 to 44,
   $1,042 for women ages 45 to 54, and $1,017 for women ages 55 to 64. Men and women 
   ages 16 to 24 had the lowest median weekly earnings, $744 and $694, respectively.
   Men's and women's earnings were closer among younger workers than older workers; for
   example, women ages 16 to 24 earned 93.3 percent as much as men in the same age 
   group, while the women's-to-men's earnings ratio was 76.7 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--$1,729
   for men and $1,316 for women. Persons employed in service occupations earned the 
   least--$782 for men, and $652 for women. (See table 4.)

 --By educational attainment, full-time workers age 25 and over without a high school 
   diploma had median weekly earnings of $675, compared with $875 for high school 
   graduates (no college) and $1,547 for those holding at least a bachelor's degree. 
   Among college graduates with advanced degrees (master's, professional, and doctoral
   degrees), the highest earning 10 percent of male workers made $4,618 or more per
   week, compared with $3,101 or more for their female counterparts. (See table 5.) 

 --Seasonally adjusted median weekly earnings were $1,084 in the fourth quarter of 
   2022, little changed from the previous quarter ($1,070). (See table 1.)

2022 Annual Averages

In addition to the data for the fourth quarter, this news release includes 2022 annual 
averages on median weekly earnings for major demographic, occupational, and educational 
attainment groups. (See tables 7, 8, and 9.) Annual average data on median usual weekly 
earnings for men and women by detailed occupational categories will be posted online at 
www.bls.gov/cps/tables.htm#weekearn when they become available.


 _______________________________________________________________________________________
|											|
|	       Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Usual Weekly Earnings Data       	|
|											|
| Seasonally adjusted median usual weekly earnings data shown in table 1 of this news   |
| release have been revised using updated seasonal adjustment factors from the Current  |
| Population Survey, a procedure done at the end of each calendar year. The revisions   |
| directly affected the number of full-time wage and salary workers and current dollar  |
| estimates of median weekly earnings; estimates of constant (1982-84) dollar median 	|
| weekly earnings were indirectly affected. Seasonally adjusted estimates back to the 	|
| first quarter of 2018 were subject to revision.					|
|											|
| The Usual Weekly Earnings news release for the first quarter of 2023, scheduled for   |
| release on April 18, 2023, will incorporate revisions to the seasonally adjusted data |
| for the median weekly earnings in constant (1982-84) dollars. Seasonally adjusted 	|
| constant (1982-84) dollar estimates back to the first quarter of 2018 will be subject |
| to revision due to annual revisions to seasonally adjusted data for the Consumer 	|
| Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U).						|
|_______________________________________________________________________________________|