Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 09-0390 

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

 For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT) 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Thursday, April 16, 2009 

USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS: 

FIRST QUARTER 2009 

Median weekly earnings of the nation's 100.4 million full-time wage and salary workers were $738 

in the first quarter of 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported 

today. This was 2.6 percent higher than a year earlier. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban 

Consumers (CPI-U) was unchanged 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.) Highlights from the first-quarter data are: 

• Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $649 per week, or 78.9 percent of 

the $823 median for men. The female-to-male earnings ratios were higher among blacks (93.9 

percent) and Hispanics (88.4 percent) than among whites (77.9 percent) or Asians (81.3 percent). 

(See table 1.) 

• Median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $595 per week, 69.6 percent of 

the median for white men ($855). The difference was less among women, as black women's 

median earnings ($559) were 83.9 percent of those for their white counterparts ($666). Overall, 

median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time ($545) were lower than those of blacks 

($577), whites ($758), and Asians ($869). (See table 1.) 

• Among men, those age 45 to 54 and age 55 to 64 had the highest median weekly earnings, $994 

and $962, respectively. Among women, weekly earnings also were highest for those age 45 to 

54 and age 55 to 64, $705 and $728, respectively. (See table 2.) 

• Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in management, professional, 

and related occupations had the highest median weekly earnings—$1,258 for men and $907 for 

women. Persons employed in service jobs earned the least. (See table 3.) 

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

$450, compared with $620 for high school graduates (no college) and $1,138 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 $3,224 or more 

per week, compared with $2,092 or more for their female counterparts. (See table 4.) 

News United States 

Department 

of Labor 
Technical 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 onequarter 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: 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 errors 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 on a timely basis, mistakes made by respondents, 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 

Household Data section of the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" available on the BLS Web site at 

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

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, such as $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 or Latino ethnicity. Refers to persons who 

identified themselves in the enumeration process as being 

Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino. Persons whose ethnicity is 

identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. 
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

I

2008

I

2009

In current dollars In constant (1982) dollars

I

2008

I

2009

I

2008

I

2009

SEX AND AGE

Total, 16 years and over ..................................................................................... 106,507 100,370 $719 $738 $327 $336

Men, 16 years and over .................................................................................. 59,324 55,231 790 823 360 375

16 to 24 years ............................................................................................. 5,888 5,009 466 461 212 210

25 years and over ....................................................................................... 53,436 50,222 848 879 386 400

Women, 16 years and over ............................................................................ 47,182 45,139 637 649 290 295

16 to 24 years ............................................................................................. 4,531 4,010 419 448 191 204

25 years and over ....................................................................................... 42,652 41,128 666 679 303 309

RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY, AND SEX

White .............................................................................................................. 85,721 81,201 742 758 338 345

Men ............................................................................................................. 48,810 45,882 822 855 374 389

Women ....................................................................................................... 36,911 35,319 652 666 297 303

Black or African American .............................................................................. 12,922 12,023 582 577 265 263

Men ............................................................................................................. 6,101 5,448 604 595 275 271

Women ....................................................................................................... 6,821 6,575 556 559 253 254

Asian ............................................................................................................... 5,297 4,828 842 869 383 396

Men ............................................................................................................. 2,981 2,662 939 951 427 433

Women ....................................................................................................... 2,316 2,166 754 773 343 352

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ............................................................................. 15,588 14,497 520 545 237 248

Men ............................................................................................................. 9,819 9,125 538 577 245 263

Women ....................................................................................................... 5,769 5,372 501 510 228 232

 NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. Persons

whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 2. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by age, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and

sex, first quarter 2009 averages, not seasonally adjusted

Age, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

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 ......................................................................................... 100,370 $738 55,231 $823 45,139 $649

16 to 24 years ........................................................................................... 9,020 456 5,009 461 4,010 448

16 to 19 years ....................................................................................... 978 364 612 370 366 350

20 to 24 years ....................................................................................... 8,042 472 4,398 476 3,644 464

25 years and over ..................................................................................... 91,350 772 50,222 879 41,128 679

25 to 54 years ....................................................................................... 74,082 767 40,981 865 33,101 672

25 to 34 years ................................................................................... 23,802 674 13,369 716 10,433 619

35 to 44 years ................................................................................... 24,733 803 13,824 914 10,910 696

45 to 54 years ................................................................................... 25,547 851 13,789 994 11,758 705

55 years and over ................................................................................. 17,268 807 9,241 942 8,027 707

55 to 64 years ................................................................................... 14,669 835 7,815 962 6,854 728

65 years and over ............................................................................. 2,599 683 1,426 787 1,173 593

White

16 years and over ......................................................................................... 81,201 758 45,882 855 35,319 666

16 to 24 years ........................................................................................... 7,328 460 4,184 455 3,144 467

25 years and over ..................................................................................... 73,873 801 41,698 912 32,175 697

25 to 54 years ....................................................................................... 59,353 793 33,762 898 25,591 690

55 years and over ................................................................................. 14,520 836 7,937 961 6,584 721

Black or African American

16 years and over ......................................................................................... 12,023 577 5,448 595 6,575 559

16 to 24 years ........................................................................................... 1,125 411 537 457 588 388

25 years and over ..................................................................................... 10,897 596 4,911 616 5,986 581

25 to 54 years ....................................................................................... 9,136 587 4,104 597 5,031 579

55 years and over ................................................................................. 1,762 663 807 760 955 591

Asian

16 years and over ......................................................................................... 4,828 869 2,662 951 2,166 773

16 to 24 years ........................................................................................... 275 505 138 511 138 493

25 years and over ..................................................................................... 4,553 891 2,524 968 2,028 817

25 to 54 years ....................................................................................... 3,861 918 2,182 989 1,679 828

55 years and over ................................................................................. 692 729 342 711 350 745

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

16 years and over ......................................................................................... 14,497 545 9,125 577 5,372 510

16 to 24 years ........................................................................................... 1,626 404 1,055 401 571 412

25 years and over ..................................................................................... 12,871 578 8,071 605 4,801 522

25 to 54 years ....................................................................................... 11,277 580 7,081 608 4,196 520

55 years and over ................................................................................. 1,595 553 990 556 605 548

 NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all

races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the

release of January data.
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

I

2008

I

2009

I

2008

I

2009

TOTAL

Management, professional, and related occupations ................................................... 39,815 39,353 $1,018 $1,046

Management, business, and financial operations occupations ................................ 16,313 16,373 1,127 1,146

Professional and related occupations ....................................................................... 23,502 22,981 967 990

Service occupations ..................................................................................................... 14,227 13,967 464 457

Sales and office occupations ........................................................................................ 25,574 23,566 614 622

Sales and related occupations ................................................................................. 10,320 9,386 650 666

Office and administrative support occupations ......................................................... 15,253 14,180 601 611

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations .................................. 11,633 10,329 699 730

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations ............................................................... 688 623 400 411

Construction and extraction occupations .................................................................. 6,374 5,293 676 720

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations ................................................... 4,571 4,413 772 790

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations ...................................... 15,259 13,154 595 597

Production occupations ............................................................................................ 8,369 6,817 594 590

Transportation and material moving occupations ..................................................... 6,890 6,338 596 603

Men

Management, professional, and related occupations ................................................... 19,388 19,073 1,236 1,258

Management, business, and financial operations occupations ................................ 8,810 8,884 1,341 1,358

Professional and related occupations ....................................................................... 10,578 10,189 1,170 1,183

Service occupations ..................................................................................................... 7,141 6,737 529 516

Sales and office occupations ........................................................................................ 9,651 8,926 737 748

Sales and related occupations ................................................................................. 5,645 5,173 788 834

Office and administrative support occupations ......................................................... 4,006 3,753 651 664

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations .................................. 11,138 9,930 701 736

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations ............................................................... 560 499 407 413

Construction and extraction occupations .................................................................. 6,209 5,186 675 720

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations ................................................... 4,369 4,245 772 791

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations ...................................... 12,007 10,566 632 643

Production occupations ............................................................................................ 5,908 5,026 660 657

Transportation and material moving occupations ..................................................... 6,099 5,540 612 625

Women

Management, professional, and related occupations ................................................... 20,427 20,281 890 907

Management, business, and financial operations occupations ................................ 7,503 7,489 954 952

Professional and related occupations ....................................................................... 12,924 12,792 859 879

Service occupations ..................................................................................................... 7,086 7,230 408 411

Sales and office occupations ........................................................................................ 15,923 14,640 578 587

Sales and related occupations ................................................................................. 4,675 4,213 508 513

Office and administrative support occupations ......................................................... 11,248 10,427 591 601

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations .................................. 495 399 609 566

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations ............................................................... 128 124 363 404

Construction and extraction occupations .................................................................. 165 107 740 696

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations ................................................... 202 168 774 743

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations ...................................... 3,252 2,588 469 452

Production occupations ............................................................................................ 2,461 1,790 462 450

Transportation and material moving occupations ..................................................... 791 798 486 456

 NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 4. Quartiles and selected deciles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected

characteristics, first quarter 2009 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 OR LATINO ETHNICITY

Total, 16 years and over ..................................................................................... 100,370 $349 $489 $738 $1,151 $1,748

Men ................................................................................................................. 55,231 377 524 823 1,305 1,919

Women ........................................................................................................... 45,139 326 446 649 974 1,422

White .............................................................................................................. 81,201 359 503 758 1,175 1,793

Men ............................................................................................................. 45,882 383 552 855 1,341 1,988

Women ....................................................................................................... 35,319 332 463 666 995 1,449

Black or African American .............................................................................. 12,023 311 406 577 871 1,270

Men ............................................................................................................. 5,448 312 421 595 917 1,403

Women ....................................................................................................... 6,575 310 395 559 831 1,192

Asian ............................................................................................................... 4,828 362 535 869 1,378 1,923

Men ............................................................................................................. 2,662 391 608 951 1,548 2,223

Women ....................................................................................................... 2,166 330 494 773 1,155 1,671

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ............................................................................. 14,497 293 381 545 813 1,233

Men ............................................................................................................. 9,125 305 394 577 874 1,328

Women ....................................................................................................... 5,372 278 356 510 738 1,080

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Total, 25 years and over ..................................................................................... 91,350 370 514 772 1,195 1,811

Less than a high school diploma .................................................................... 7,224 272 337 450 612 901

High school graduates, no college 1 ............................................................... 25,722 337 442 620 888 1,229

Some college or associate degree ................................................................. 25,348 378 512 726 1,040 1,445

Bachelor’s degree and higher 2 ...................................................................... 33,057 547 768 1,138 1,677 2,393

Bachelor’s degree only ............................................................................... 21,399 509 724 1,024 1,548 2,214

Advanced degree ....................................................................................... 11,657 664 912 1,326 1,899 2,831

Men, 25 years and over .................................................................................. 50,222 397 579 879 1,368 1,998

Less than a high school diploma ................................................................ 4,846 287 365 493 681 980

High school graduates, no college 1 ........................................................... 14,778 377 500 712 1,009 1,373

Some college or associate degree ............................................................. 13,139 421 594 844 1,196 1,628

Bachelor’s degree and higher 2 .................................................................. 17,459 614 890 1,353 1,912 2,881

Bachelor’s degree only ........................................................................... 11,232 582 823 1,239 1,798 2,498

Advanced degree ................................................................................... 6,227 743 1,024 1,537 2,212 3,224

Women, 25 years and over ............................................................................ 41,128 341 471 679 1,009 1,463

Less than a high school diploma ................................................................ 2,377 236 303 388 515 644

High school graduates, no college 1 ........................................................... 10,944 308 395 527 721 962

Some college or associate degree ............................................................. 12,209 344 466 627 876 1,183

Bachelor’s degree and higher 2 .................................................................. 15,598 497 695 962 1,366 1,885

Bachelor’s degree only ........................................................................... 10,168 468 633 885 1,251 1,753

Advanced degree ................................................................................... 5,430 599 828 1,140 1,541 2,092

1 Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent. 2 Includes persons with bachelor’s, master’s, professional, and doctoral

degrees.

 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. Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African

American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented

for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino

may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced annually

with the release of January data.
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

I

2008

I

2009

I

2008

I

2009

SEX AND AGE

Total, 16 years and over ............................................................................................... 22,195 24,180 $216 $222

Men, 16 years and over ............................................................................................ 6,975 8,007 207 218

16 to 24 years ....................................................................................................... 3,375 3,429 161 165

25 years and over ................................................................................................. 3,600 4,578 272 272

Women, 16 years and over ...................................................................................... 15,220 16,173 221 225

16 to 24 years ....................................................................................................... 4,412 4,671 156 156

25 years and over ................................................................................................. 10,808 11,502 258 269

RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY, AND SEX

 White ...................................................................................................................... 18,638 20,264 218 223

 Men ................................................................................................................... 5,800 6,532 208 217

 Women ............................................................................................................. 12,838 13,732 223 226

 Black or African American ...................................................................................... 2,111 2,342 207 221

 Men ................................................................................................................... 710 858 209 219

 Women ............................................................................................................. 1,401 1,484 206 222

 Asian ....................................................................................................................... 879 954 220 234

 Men ................................................................................................................... 283 365 211 255

 Women ............................................................................................................. 596 589 225 221

 Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ..................................................................................... 2,647 3,296 212 224

 Men ................................................................................................................... 995 1,189 222 244

 Women ............................................................................................................. 1,652 2,108 206 212

 NOTE: Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races.

Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January

data.