1

Technical information: (202) 691-6378

 http://www.bls.gov/cps/

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 02-599

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Monday, October 21, 2002

USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS:

THIRD QUARTER 2002

Median weekly earnings of the nation’s 99.8 million full-time wage and salary workers were $605 in the

third quarter of 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. This

was 1.7 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 1.6 percent in the Consumer Price Index

for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) over the same period.

Data on usual 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 Explanatory Note.) Highlights from the third-quarter data are:

—Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $528 per week, or 78.1 percent of the

$676 median for men. The female-to-male earnings ratios were higher among blacks (89.3 percent) and

Hispanics (90.5 percent) than among whites (78.5 percent). (See table 1.)

—Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $512 per week, 73.0 percent of the

median for white men ($701). The difference was much less among women, as black women’s median

earnings ($457) were 83.1 percent of those for their white counterparts ($550). Overall, median earnings

of Hispanics who worked full time ($421) were lower than those of blacks ($485) and whites ($623).

 (See table 1.)

—Among men, the highest median weekly earnings were for those age 55 to 64 ($808) and age 45

to 54 ($798). Among women, earnings were highest for those 45 to 54 years old ($606). (See table 2.)

—Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in managerial and professional

specialty occupations had the highest median weekly earnings—$1,056 for men and $755 for women. Men

and women in service and farm jobs earned the least. (See table 3.)

—Full-time workers age 25 and over without a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of

$388, compared with $534 for high school graduates (no college) and $944 for college graduates. Among

college graduates with advanced degrees (professional or master’s degree and above), the highest-earning

10 percent of male workers made $2,682 or more per week, compared with $1,834 or more for their

female counterparts. (See table 4.)
Explanatory Note

The estimates in this release were obtained from the Current

Population Survey (CPS), which provides the basic information on the

labor force, employment, and unemployment. The survey is conducted

monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S.Census Bureau

from a scientifically selected national sample of about 60,000

households, with coverage in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The earnings data are collected from one-quarter of the CPS monthly

sample and are limited to wages and salaries. The data, therefore,

exclude self-employment income.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200;

TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

Reliability

Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and

nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire population,

is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from

the "true" population values they represent. The exact difference, or

sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample selected,

and this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate.

There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an

estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard

errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error.

BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of

confidence.

The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample

a segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all

respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents

to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or

processing of the data.

For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and

information on estimating standard errors, see the “Explanatory Notes

and Estimates of Error” section of the February 1994 and subsequent

issues of Employment and Earnings.

Definitions

The principal definitions used in connection with the earnings

series are described briefly below.

Usual weekly earnings. 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.)

Prior to 1994, respondents were asked how much they usually earned

per week. Since January 1994, respondents have been asked to

identify the easiest way for them to report earnings (hourly, weekly,

biweekly, twice monthly, monthly, annually, 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 as perceived by the respondent. If the respondent asks for

a definition of usual, interviewers are instructed to define the term as

more than half the weeks worked during the past 4 or 5 months.

Medians (and other quantiles) of weekly earnings. The median (or

upper limit of the second quartile) is the amount which divides a given

earnings distribution into two equal groups, one having earnings above

the median and the other having earnings below the median. Ten

percent of a given distribution have earnings below the upper limit of

the first decile (90 percent have higher earnings); 25 percent have

earnings below the upper limit of the first quartile (75 percent have

higher earnings); 75 percent have earnings below the upper limit of the

third quartile (25 percent have higher earnings); and 90 percent have

earnings below the upper limit of the ninth decile (10 percent have

higher earnings).

The estimating procedure places each reported or calculated weekly

earnings value into $50-wide intervals which are centered around

multiples of $50. The actual value is estimated through the linear

interpolation of the interval in which the quantile boundary lies.

Over-the-year changes in the medians (and other quantile

boundaries) for specific groups may not necessarily be consistent with

the movements estimated for the overall quantile boundary. The most

common reasons for this possible anomaly are: (1) There could be a

change in the relative weights of the subgroups. For example, the

medians of both 16-to-24 year olds and those 25 years and over may

rise; but if the lower-earning 16-to-24 group accounts for a greatly

increased share of the total, the overall median could actually fall. (2)

There could be a large change in the shape of the distribution of

reported earnings, particularly near a quantile boundary. This could

be caused by survey observations that are clustered at rounded values,

e.g., $250, $300, $400. An estimate lying in a $50-wide centered

interval containing such a cluster or “spike” tends to change more

slowly than one in other intervals.

Wage and salary workers. Workers who receive wages, salaries,

commissions, tips, payment in kind, or piece rates. The group

includes employees in both the private and public sectors but, for the

purposes of the earnings series, excludes all self-employed persons,

regardless of whether or not their businesses are incorporated.

Full-time workers. Workers who usually work 35 hours or more

per week at their sole or principal job.

Part-time workers. Workers who usually work fewer than 35

hours per week at their sole or principal job.

Constant dollars. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban

Consumers (CPI-U) is used to convert current dollars to constant

(1982) dollars.

Hispanic origin. Refers to persons who are of Mexican, Puerto

Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Hispanic origin

or descent. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race; hence, they

are included in the numbers for the white and black populations.
Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, quarterly averages,

not seasonally adjusted

Characteristic

Number of workers

(in thousands) Median weekly earnings

 III

2001

 III

2002

In current dollars In constant (1982) dollars

 III

2001

 III

2002

 III

2001

 III

2002

SEX AND AGE

Total, 16 years and over ........................................................................... 100,851 99,822 $595 $605 $323 $323

 Men, 16 years and over ......................................................................... 56,865 56,306 674 676 366 361

 16 to 24 years ...................................................................................... 7,303 6,985 389 378 211 202

 25 years and over ................................................................................ 49,562 49,321 725 734 394 392

 Women, 16 years and over ................................................................... 43,987 43,516 507 528 275 282

 16 to 24 years ...................................................................................... 5,555 5,333 350 359 190 192

 25 years and over ................................................................................ 38,432 38,183 542 572 294 306

RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX

 White ..................................................................................................... 83,196 82,325 610 623 331 333

 Men ...................................................................................................... 48,118 47,487 694 701 377 374

 Women ................................................................................................ 35,078 34,838 515 550 279 294

 Black ...................................................................................................... 12,642 12,497 489 485 266 259

 Men ...................................................................................................... 5,953 6,029 516 512 280 274

 Women ................................................................................................ 6,689 6,468 457 457 248 244

 Hispanic origin ....................................................................................... 11,712 11,897 418 421 227 225

 Men ...................................................................................................... 7,159 7,205 450 441 244 236

 Women ................................................................................................ 4,552 4,692 383 399 208 213

 NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not

sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented

and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.
Table 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, 

third quarter 2002 averages, not seasonally adjusted

Age, race, and Hispanic origin

Total Men Women

Number

of

workers

(in

thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

Number

of

workers

(in

thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

Number

of

workers

(in

thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

TOTAL

16 years and over ..................................................................................... 99,822 $605 56,306 $676 43,516 $528

 16 to 24 years ......................................................................................... 12,318 370 6,985 378 5,333 359

 16 to 19 years ....................................................................................... 2,504 302 1,514 308 990 295

 20 to 24 years ....................................................................................... 9,814 392 5,471 400 4,343 381

 25 years and over ................................................................................... 87,503 650 49,321 734 38,183 572

 25 to 54 years ....................................................................................... 75,286 651 42,561 730 32,725 576

 25 to 34 years ..................................................................................... 23,982 592 13,687 634 10,295 534

 35 to 44 years ..................................................................................... 27,616 675 15,859 767 11,757 571

 45 to 54 years ..................................................................................... 23,689 707 13,016 798 10,673 606

 55 years and over ................................................................................. 12,217 644 6,760 768 5,457 549

 55 to 64 years ..................................................................................... 10,760 666 5,902 808 4,858 567

 65 years and over ............................................................................... 1,456 501 858 593 599 415

White

16 years and over ..................................................................................... 82,325 623 47,487 701 34,838 550

 16 to 24 years ......................................................................................... 10,440 373 6,030 383 4,409 359

 25 years and over ................................................................................... 71,886 677 41,457 759 30,429 588

 25 to 54 years ....................................................................................... 61,421 677 35,555 752 25,867 591

 55 years and over ................................................................................. 10,464 681 5,903 826 4,562 574

Black

16 years and over ..................................................................................... 12,497 485 6,029 512 6,468 457

 16 to 24 years ......................................................................................... 1,435 344 716 327 718 356

 25 years and over ................................................................................... 11,062 505 5,312 551 5,750 478

 25 to 54 years ....................................................................................... 9,833 507 4,747 547 5,086 481

 55 years and over ................................................................................. 1,229 493 565 582 664 450

Hispanic origin

16 years and over ..................................................................................... 11,897 421 7,205 441 4,692 399

 16 to 24 years ......................................................................................... 1,992 330 1,282 335 710 323

 25 years and over ................................................................................... 9,905 455 5,922 484 3,983 418

 25 to 54 years ....................................................................................... 8,933 456 5,339 481 3,594 422

 55 years and over ................................................................................. 973 442 584 511 389 377

 NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not

sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented

and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.
Table 3. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by occupation and sex, quarterly averages, 

not seasonally adjusted

Occupation and sex

Number of workers

(in thousands) Median weekly earnings

 III

2001

 III

2002

 III

2001

 III

2002

TOTAL

 Managerial and professional specialty .................................................... 32,298 32,333 $867 $878

 Executive, administrative, and managerial ............................................ 16,149 15,911 884 886

 Professional specialty ............................................................................ 16,149 16,421 854 872

 Technical, sales, and administrative support ........................................... 28,546 27,898 516 551

 Technicians and related support ........................................................... 3,837 3,690 683 697

 Sales occupations ................................................................................. 10,323 10,286 568 600

 Administrative support, including clerical ............................................... 14,386 13,922 479 501

 Service occupations ................................................................................ 11,608 11,787 368 381

 Private household .................................................................................. 354 394 248 273

 Protective service .................................................................................. 2,163 2,343 609 614

 Service, except private household and protective ................................. 9,091 9,050 345 355

 Precision production, craft, and repair ..................................................... 12,236 11,534 627 634

 Mechanics and repairers ....................................................................... 4,160 4,064 670 676

 Construction trades ............................................................................... 4,649 4,359 611 606

 Other precision production, craft, and repair ......................................... 3,427 3,111 614 632

 Operators, fabricators, and laborers ........................................................ 14,504 14,402 475 483

 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ................................... 5,957 5,659 462 469

 Transportation and material moving occupations .................................. 4,686 4,584 587 594

 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ........................... 3,862 4,159 390 403

 Farming, forestry, and fishing .................................................................. 1,658 1,867 347 381

Men

 Managerial and professional specialty .................................................... 16,476 16,068 1,053 1,056

 Executive, administrative, and managerial ............................................ 8,631 8,349 1,077 1,061

 Professional specialty ............................................................................ 7,845 7,719 1,026 1,050

 Technical, sales, and administrative support ........................................... 11,054 10,963 664 703

 Technicians and related support ........................................................... 1,933 1,803 786 848

 Sales occupations ................................................................................. 5,657 5,928 683 748

 Administrative support, including clerical ............................................... 3,464 3,233 552 588

 Service occupations ................................................................................ 5,424 5,664 420 434

 Private household .................................................................................. 12 39 1( ) 1( )

 Protective service .................................................................................. 1,781 1,978 $624 $639

 Service, except private household and protective ................................. 3,631 3,647 366 377

 Precision production, craft, and repair ..................................................... 11,149 10,628 645 653

 Mechanics and repairers ....................................................................... 3,927 3,886 672 677

 Construction trades ............................................................................... 4,558 4,259 613 608

 Other precision production, craft, and repair ......................................... 2,664 2,482 669 693

 Operators, fabricators, and laborers ........................................................ 11,346 11,401 508 510

 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ................................... 3,888 3,766 513 511

 Transportation and material moving occupations .................................. 4,304 4,262 603 604

 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ........................... 3,153 3,373 402 415

 Farming, forestry, and fishing .................................................................. 1,416 1,581 361 386

Women

 Managerial and professional specialty .................................................... 15,823 16,264 727 755

 Executive, administrative, and managerial ............................................ 7,518 7,562 709 740

 Professional specialty ............................................................................ 8,304 8,702 738 771

 Technical, sales, and administrative support ........................................... 17,492 16,935 465 486

 Technicians and related support ........................................................... 1,905 1,887 583 589

 Sales occupations ................................................................................. 4,665 4,358 421 436

 Administrative support, including clerical ............................................... 10,922 10,689 461 485

 Service occupations ................................................................................ 6,184 6,123 334 342

 Private household .................................................................................. 342 355 241 276

 Protective service .................................................................................. 382 365 501 487

 Service, except private household and protective ................................. 5,461 5,402 331 341

 Precision production, craft, and repair ..................................................... 1,087 906 489 467

 Mechanics and repairers ....................................................................... 233 178 620 610

 Construction trades ............................................................................... 90 99 1( ) 1( )

 Other precision production, craft, and repair ......................................... 764 629 $465 $450

 Operators, fabricators, and laborers ........................................................ 3,159 3,002 377 383

 Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ................................... 2,069 1,894 379 384

 Transportation and material moving occupations .................................. 381 322 440 452

 Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ........................... 708 786 347 355

 Farming, forestry, and fishing .................................................................. 242 286 299 330

1 Data not shown where base is less than 100,000.
Table 4. Quartiles and selected deciles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected

characteristics, third quarter 2002 averages, not seasonally adjusted

Characteristic

Number

of

workers

(in

thousands)

Upper limit of:

First

decile

First

quartile

Second

quartile

(median)

Third

quartile

Ninth

decile

SEX, RACE, AND HISPANIC ORIGIN

Total, 16 years and over ........................................................................... 99,822 $294 $400 $605 $922 $1,383

 Men ......................................................................................................... 56,306 310 436 676 1,033 1,539

 Women ................................................................................................... 43,516 278 367 528 774 1,123

 White ...................................................................................................... 82,325 299 411 623 948 1,421

 Men ....................................................................................................... 47,487 316 456 701 1,068 1,559

 Women ................................................................................................. 34,838 283 377 550 794 1,141

 Black ....................................................................................................... 12,497 263 343 485 707 1,017

 Men ....................................................................................................... 6,029 285 376 512 746 1,130

 Women ................................................................................................. 6,468 246 324 457 657 957

 Hispanic .................................................................................................. 11,897 256 314 421 630 950

 Men ....................................................................................................... 7,205 269 326 441 684 1,044

 Women ................................................................................................. 4,692 243 299 399 586 826

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

 Total, 25 years and over ......................................................................... 87,503 314 436 650 972 1,446

 Less than a high school diploma .......................................................... 8,080 242 298 388 536 735

 High school graduates, no college ....................................................... 26,557 295 390 534 757 1,043

 Some college or associate degree ....................................................... 24,362 332 448 623 884 1,218

 College graduates, total ........................................................................ 28,505 480 668 944 1,393 1,911

 Bachelor's degree only ....................................................................... 19,078 452 630 892 1,268 1,774

 Advanced degree ............................................................................... 9,427 566 760 1,104 1,602 2,315

 Men, 25 years and over ........................................................................ 49,321 346 493 734 1,111 1,592

 Less than a high school diploma ........................................................ 5,385 266 317 423 591 794

 High school graduates, no college ..................................................... 15,005 331 442 619 873 1,183

 Some college or associate degree ..................................................... 12,907 382 522 728 1,008 1,376

 College graduates, total ...................................................................... 16,023 510 742 1,079 1,560 2,216

 Bachelor's degree only ..................................................................... 10,563 484 701 993 1,447 1,912

 Advanced degree ............................................................................. 5,461 593 850 1,260 1,846 2,682

 Women, 25 years and over .................................................................. 38,183 290 390 572 822 1,165

 Less than a high school diploma ........................................................ 2,695 214 266 330 418 564

 High school graduates, no college ..................................................... 11,551 274 340 455 613 836

 Some college or associate degree ..................................................... 11,454 301 396 534 729 966

 College graduates, total ...................................................................... 12,482 453 609 828 1,142 1,586

 Bachelor's degree only ..................................................................... 8,515 425 586 779 1,069 1,473

 Advanced degree ............................................................................. 3,966 533 693 928 1,288 1,834

 NOTE: Ten percent of all full-time wage and salary workers earn less

than the upper limit of the first decile; 25 percent earn less than the upper

limit of the first quartile; 50 percent earn less than the upper limit of the

second quartile, or median; 75 percent earn less than the upper limit of the

third quartile; and 90 percent earn less than the upper limit of the ninth

decile. Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to

totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and

Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.
Table 5. Median usual weekly earnings of part-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, quarterly averages,

not seasonally adjusted

Characteristic

Number of workers

(in thousands) Median weekly earnings

 III

2001

 III

2002

 III

2001

 III

2002

SEX AND AGE

Total, 16 years and over ........................................................................... 19,747 20,705 $189 $194

 Men, 16 years and over ......................................................................... 6,253 6,560 180 188

 16 to 24 years ...................................................................................... 3,321 3,318 157 158

 25 years and over ................................................................................ 2,933 3,242 217 230

 Women, 16 years and over ................................................................... 13,494 14,146 192 196

 16 to 24 years ...................................................................................... 4,214 4,432 150 154

 25 years and over ................................................................................ 9,280 9,714 218 226

RACE, HISPANIC ORIGIN, AND SEX

 White ..................................................................................................... 16,987 17,704 190 195

 Men ...................................................................................................... 5,223 5,474 182 189

 Women ................................................................................................ 11,764 12,229 194 198

 Black ...................................................................................................... 1,859 1,944 172 182

 Men ...................................................................................................... 711 681 162 186

 Women ................................................................................................ 1,148 1,263 177 181

 Hispanic origin ....................................................................................... 1,926 2,076 190 184

 Men ...................................................................................................... 685 732 194 202

 Women ................................................................................................ 1,241 1,345 188 174

 NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not

sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented

and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population

groups.