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News Release Information

15-91-PHI
Thursday, January 22, 2015

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Women’s Earnings in Pennsylvania — 2013

In 2013, Pennsylvania women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median usual weekly earnings of $701, or 79.7 percent of the $879 median usual weekly earnings for their male counterparts, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Sheila Watkins noted that the women’s to men’s earnings ratio in Pennsylvania decreased 2.0 percentage points from the previous year. Nationwide, women earned $706 per week, or 82.1 percent of the $860 median for men. (See table 1. Earnings in this report do not control for many factors that can be significant in explaining earnings differences.)

In Pennsylvania, the ratio of women’s to men’s earnings has ranged from a low of 71.8 percent in 1997 to a high of 81.7 percent in 2012. The ratio generally has been trending upwards since 2007 prior to the decline in 2013. (See chart 1. Data for the states began in 1997.)

 

Among the 50 states, median weekly earnings of women in full-time wage and salary positions in 2013 ranged from $591 in Louisiana and Oklahoma to $900 in Massachusetts. States with the highest wages for women were located along the Eastern Seaboard. In addition to Massachusetts, women’s earnings in Connecticut, Maryland, and Virginia were above $800 per week. In the District of Columbia, women earned a median weekly wage of $1,100. (See table 1 and chart 2.)

Median weekly earnings for men were lowest in Arkansas at $705 and highest in Massachusetts at $1,109. Three other states (Connecticut, Alaska, and Maryland) had weekly wages above $1,000 for full-time male workers. In the District of Columbia, men earned a median weekly wage of $1,212.

Vermont had the highest female-to-male earnings ratio among the states, 91.3 percent, and Wyoming had the lowest, 68.6 percent. The District of Columbia had a ratio of 90.8 percent. (See chart 3.) The differences among the states reflect, in part, variation in the occupations and industries found in each state and in the age composition of each state’s labor force. In addition, comparisons by gender are on a broad level and do not control for factors such as educational attainment which can be significant in explaining earnings differences.


Technical Note

The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. This survey is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau, using a scientifically selected national sample of about 60,000 eligible households, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The earnings data are collected from one-fourth of the CPS monthly sample and are limited to wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers, both incorporated and unincorporated, are excluded from the data presented in this report.

Statistics based on the CPS data are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. The differences among data for the states reflect, in part, variation in the occupations and industries found in each state and diversity in the age composition of each state’s labor force. In general, the sampling error for the state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national data; thus, comparisons of state estimates should be made with caution.

The principal definitions used in connection with the earnings series in this release are described below.

Usual weekly earnings. These 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). Respondents are asked to identify the easiest way for them to report earnings (hourly, weekly, biweekly, twice monthly, monthly, annually, or 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 determined by each respondent’s own understanding of the term. 

Medians of usual weekly earnings. The earnings estimates shown in this release are medians. The median is the midpoint in a given earnings distribution, with half of workers having earnings above the median and the other half having earnings below the median.

Wage and salary workers. These are workers age 16 and older who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payments in kind, or piece rates on their sole or principal job. This group includes employees in both the public and private sectors. All self-employed workers are excluded whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

Full-time worker. People who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job are defined as working full time for the purpose of these estimates.

For more information on the median weekly earnings of women and men, see Bureau of Labor Statistics Report 1051, Highlights of women’s earnings in 2013, available at www.bls.gov/opub/reports/cps/highlights-of-womens-earnings-in-2013.pdf.

Information in this release will be available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by state and sex, 2013 annual averages
State Both sexes Women Men Women's earnings as percentage of men's
Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings Standard error of median Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings Standard error of median Number of workers (in thousands) Median weekly earnings Standard error of median

United States

104,262 $776 $2 46,268 $706 $3 57,994 $860 $3 82.1

Alabama

1,557 733 13 715 633 24 843 820 26 77.2

Alaska

255 888 17 112 760 15 143 1,027 35 74.0

Arizona

1,970 764 13 869 702 18 1,101 848 26 82.8

Arkansas

912 660 14 400 607 15 512 705 19 86.1

California

11,767 821 9 5,007 772 10 6,760 864 12 89.4

Colorado

1,775 875 18 765 762 15 1009 978 29 77.9

Connecticut

1,204 995 19 539 894 28 665 1,106 44 80.8

Delaware

308 790 19 142 728 20 166 884 47 82.4

District of Columbia

271 1,152 22 138 1,100 55 133 1,212 61 90.8

Florida

6,347 740 6 3,032 679 10 3,315 816 14 83.2

Georgia

3,373 742 11 1,533 677 17 1,840 830 23 81.6

Hawaii

449 783 18 204 727 18 245 863 28 84.2

Idaho

469 707 14 180 649 19 290 741 14 87.6

Illinois

4,293 816 13 1,945 727 13 2,348 891 15 81.6

Indiana

2,149 733 12 936 650 15 1,212 830 28 78.3

Iowa

1,124 757 13 509 671 18 615 861 22 77.9

Kansas

983 743 13 430 653 22 554 826 26 79.1

Kentucky

1,372 682 15 618 610 14 754 749 15 81.4

Louisiana

1,422 692 12 627 591 13 794 808 32 73.1

Maine

428 751 14 202 684 26 226 802 26 85.3

Maryland

2,244 942 20 1,067 870 28 1,177 1,012 28 86.0

Massachusetts

2,261 1,001 19 1,002 900 20 1,258 1,109 28 81.2

Michigan

2,996 811 14 1,290 720 15 1,706 883 17 81.5

Minnesota

1,945 878 17 850 790 20 1,096 956 27 82.6

Mississippi

868 660 18 411 593 17 457 739 23 80.2

Missouri

2,075 743 14 948 665 17 1,127 852 31 78.1

Montana

313 687 10 141 594 16 173 778 22 76.3

Nebraska

697 738 13 311 668 17 386 801 17 83.4

Nevada

951 702 11 421 649 14 529 745 16 87.1

New Hampshire

489 884 19 215 788 32 274 956 23 82.4

New Jersey

3,108 905 18 1,400 789 16 1,708 993 20 79.5

New Mexico

573 746 20 243 646 15 330 827 22 78.1

New York

6,715 839 11 3,061 758 8 3,654 910 12 83.3

North Carolina

3,164 705 12 1,428 635 12 1,735 768 15 82.7

North Dakota

273 791 14 118 692 12 155 903 22 76.6

Ohio

3,698 744 9 1,662 680 11 2,036 822 15 82.7

Oklahoma

1,295 677 12 565 591 12 730 756 18 78.2

Oregon

1,143 781 21 494 705 15 649 873 27 80.8

Pennsylvania

4,425 782 10 1,957 701 12 2,468 879 14 79.7

Rhode Island

356 856 24 165 756 19 191 954 28 79.2

South Carolina

1,545 703 15 719 622 14 826 785 13 79.2

South Dakota

289 679 12 132 602 13 157 754 17 79.8

Tennessee

2,033 687 20 886 629 16 1,147 745 17 84.4

Texas

9,184 721 7 3,904 629 9 5,280 800 14 78.6

Utah

970 754 11 366 642 16 604 864 22 74.3

Vermont

216 777 15 99 745 19 117 816 26 91.3

Virginia

2,988 897 18 1,357 808 21 1,631 971 26 83.2

Washington

2,278 882 18 945 764 24 1,333 963 31 79.3

West Virginia

572 740 15 253 633 25 319 847 25 74.7

Wisconsin

1,959 784 15 871 697 20 1,088 851 19 81.9

Wyoming

211 847 20 83 671 22 128 978 20 68.6

Note: In general, the sampling error for the state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national estimates; thus, comparisons of state estimates should be made with caution. Data shown are based on workers' state of residence; worker' reported earnings, however, may or may not be from a job located in the same state.

 
 

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, January 22, 2015