Pay premium grows through the ranks

The wage differentials between adjacent levels of the supervisory hierarchy provide an interesting insight: The differential increases as the level of supervision goes up.

[Chart data—TXT]

First-line supervisors, on average earn 13 percent more than team leaders. Second-line managers earn 59 percent more than first-line and third-line managers earn 73 percent more than second-line.

The small differential between team leaders and first-line supervisors is best explained by looking at their occupations. Team leaders are often found in professional occupations, which tend to be higher paying. On the other hand, there are a large number of first-line supervisors in service occupations, which tend to be lower paying.

These data are a product of the National Compensation Survey. Find out more in James Smith, "Supervisory Duties and the National Compensation Survey" (PDF 92K), Compensation and Working Conditions, Spring 2000.