2014
Before the facts get mired and twisted in news reports and political rhetoric, here are the just released data. The median annual salary in 4th quarter 2013 was about $40,872 with great variation by gender, race and age.
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USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS FOURTH QUARTER 2013
Median weekly earnings of the nation’s 104.8 million full-time wage and salary workers were $786 in the fourth quarter of 2013 (not seasonally adjusted), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was 1.4 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 1.2 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.
Data shown in this release are not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified. Highlights from the fourth-quarter data are:
◾️Seasonally adjusted median weekly earnings were $782 in the fourth quarter of 2013, little changed from the previous quarter ($778).
◾️On a not seasonally adjusted basis, median weekly earnings were $786 in the fourth quarter of 2013. Women who usually worked full time had median weekly earnings of $713, or 82.0 percent of the $869 median for men.
◾️The women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio varied by race and ethnicity. White women earned 81.3 percent as much as their male counterparts, compared with black (96.1 percent), Asian (77.7 percent), and Hispanic women (89.4 percent).
◾️Among the major race and ethnicity groups, median weekly earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $646 per week, or 72.1 percent of the median for white men ($896). The difference was less among women, as black women’s median earnings ($621) were 85.3 percent of those for white women ($728). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($576) were lower than those of blacks ($632), whites ($813), and Asians ($916).
◾️Usual weekly earnings of full-time workers varied by age. Among men, those age 55 to 64 had the highest median weekly earnings ($1,048). Among women, usual weekly earnings were highest for those age 35 to 64; weekly earnings were $775 for women age 35 to 44, $767 for women age 45 to 54, and $789 for women age 55 to 64. Workers age 16 to 24 had the lowest median weekly earnings, at $474.
✔️ The following two bullets provide clear insight into the income gap issue. Nothing new of course, but always a clear picture of where we need to focus efforts to raise people up; jobs for the 21st century and education. It should be clear that merely raising the minimum wage is not the answer. That means the service job number goes to $586 and $492 if the wage is raised $1.00 … problem solved?
◾️Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in management, professional, and related occupations had the highest median weekly earnings– $1,367 for men and $992 for women. Men and women employed in service jobs earned the least, $546 and $452, respectively.
◾️By educational attainment, full-time workers age 25 and over without a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of $468, compared with $648 for high school graduates (no college) and $1,219 for those holding at least a bachelor’s degree. Among college graduates with advanced degrees (professional or master’s degree and above), the highest earning 10 percent of male workers made $3,469 or more per week, compared with $2,417 or more for their female counterparts.
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 when they become available.
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