For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, April 15, 2010 USDL-10-0468 

Technical information: (202) 691-6378 • cpsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cps 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov 

USUAL WEEKLY EARNINGS OF WAGE AND SALARY WORKERS

FIRST QUARTER 2010 

Median weekly earnings of the nation's 96.8 million full-time wage and salary workers were $754 in 

the first quarter of 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was 2.2 percent higher 

than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 2.4 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. (See the Technical Note.) Highlights from the first-quarter data are: 

 Women who usually worked full time had median earnings of $665 per week, or 78.8 percent 

of the $844 median for men. The female-to-male earnings ratios were higher among blacks 

(92.0 percent) and Hispanics (85.6 percent) than among whites (78.0 percent) or Asians (81.6 

percent). (See table 1.) 

 Among the major race and ethnicity groups, median earnings for black men working at fulltime jobs were $635 per week, 73.1 percent of the median for white men ($869). The difference was less among women, as black women's median earnings ($584) were 86.1 percent of 

those for white women ($678). Overall, median earnings of Hispanics who worked full time 

($554) were lower than those of blacks ($610), whites ($772), and Asians ($859). (See 

table 1.) 

 Usual weekly earnings of full-time workers varied by age. Among men, those age 45 to 54 and 

age 55 to 64 had the highest median weekly earnings, $972 and $980, respectively. Among 

women, weekly earnings also were highest for those two age groups, $736 and $733, respecttively. (See table 2.) 

 Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in management, professsional, and related occupations had the highest median weekly earnings—$1,268 for men and 

$915 for women. Persons employed in service jobs earned the least. (See table 3.) 

 By educational attainment, full-time workers age 25 and over without a high school diploma 

had median weekly earnings of $448, compared with $624 for high school graduates (no college) and $1,140 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 
- 2 - 

of male workers made $3,319 or more per week, compared with $2,277 or more for their female counterparts. (See table 4.) 

Upcoming Changes to the Usual Weekly Earnings of 

Wage and Salary Workers News Release 

Effective with the release of data for the second quarter of 2010 on July 20, the U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics will introduce seasonally adjusted data in the Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and 

Salary Workers news release. A new table will provide seasonally adjusted data for the number of 

full-time wage and salary workers, median weekly earnings in current dollars, and median weekly 

earnings in constant (1982-84) dollars. These data will be available for total (both sexes), men, and 

women. The new table will appear as table 1 in the news release; the existing tables will be 

renumbered. 
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; Federal Relay Service: (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

1st

2009

1st

2010

In current dollars In constant (1982) dollars

1st

2009

1st

2010

1st

2009

1st

2010

SEX AND AGE

Total, 16 years and over............................................... 100,370 96,821 $738 $754 $336 $335

Men, 16 years and over............................................. 55,231 53,028 823 844 375 375

16 to 24 years...................................................... 5,009 4,209 461 473 210 210

25 years and over................................................. 50,222 48,818 879 887 400 394

Women, 16 years and over......................................... 45,139 43,794 649 665 295 296

16 to 24 years...................................................... 4,010 3,558 448 422 204 188

25 years and over................................................. 41,128 40,236 679 698 309 311

RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY, AND SEX

White................................................................... 81,201 78,418 758 772 345 343

Men.................................................................. 45,882 44,040 855 869 389 386

Women.............................................................. 35,319 34,378 666 678 303 301

Black or African American........................................... 12,023 11,375 577 610 263 271

Men.................................................................. 5,448 5,140 595 635 271 282

Women.............................................................. 6,575 6,235 559 584 254 260

Asian................................................................... 4,828 4,802 869 859 396 382

Men.................................................................. 2,662 2,670 951 940 433 418

Women.............................................................. 2,166 2,132 773 767 352 341

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity......................................... 14,497 14,319 545 554 248 246

Men.................................................................. 9,125 8,875 577 589 263 262

Women.............................................................. 5,372 5,444 510 504 232 224

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, 1st quarter 2010 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....................................................... 96,821 $754 53,028 $844 43,794 $665

16 to 24 years........................................................ 7,767 443 4,209 473 3,558 422

16 to 19 years...................................................... 715 356 423 349 293 377

20 to 24 years...................................................... 7,052 457 3,787 489 3,265 427

25 years and over.................................................... 89,054 787 48,818 887 40,236 698

25 to 54 years...................................................... 71,752 778 39,640 869 32,112 698

25 to 34 years................................................... 23,424 691 13,084 739 10,339 641

35 to 44 years................................................... 23,338 826 13,247 928 10,091 726

45 to 54 years................................................... 24,991 852 13,310 972 11,682 736

55 years and over................................................. 17,302 834 9,178 964 8,124 701

55 to 64 years................................................... 14,760 866 7,808 980 6,952 733

65 years and over............................................... 2,541 662 1,370 820 1,171 566

White

16 years and over.................................................... 78,418 772 44,040 869 34,378 678

16 to 24 years...................................................... 6,316 455 3,517 484 2,799 428

25 years and over................................................. 72,102 813 40,523 913 31,579 716

25 to 54 years................................................... 57,530 803 32,639 893 24,891 717

55 years and over............................................... 14,573 866 7,884 990 6,689 712

Black or African American

16 years and over.................................................... 11,375 610 5,140 635 6,235 584

16 to 24 years...................................................... 965 395 426 403 539 380

25 years and over................................................. 10,410 635 4,714 661 5,697 611

25 to 54 years................................................... 8,705 628 3,950 651 4,755 607

55 years and over............................................... 1,705 679 764 736 941 633

Asian

16 years and over.................................................... 4,802 859 2,670 940 2,132 767

16 to 24 years...................................................... 243 424 131 496 112 412

25 years and over................................................. 4,559 882 2,539 955 2,019 789

25 to 54 years................................................... 3,827 896 2,149 971 1,678 791

55 years and over............................................... 732 785 390 790 342 783

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

16 years and over.................................................... 14,319 554 8,875 589 5,444 504

16 to 24 years...................................................... 1,538 390 970 387 568 396

25 years and over................................................. 12,781 583 7,905 611 4,876 522

25 to 54 years................................................... 11,213 581 6,977 606 4,236 521

55 years and over............................................... 1,568 598 928 664 640 526

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

1st

2009

1st

2010

1st

2009

1st

2010

TOTAL

Management, professional, and related occupations................................. 39,353 39,105 $1,046 $1,068

Management, business, and financial operations occupations.................... 16,373 15,593 1,146 1,167

Professional and related occupations................................................ 22,981 23,512 990 1,007

Service occupations....................................................................... 13,967 13,906 457 476

Sales and office occupations............................................................. 23,566 22,274 622 632

Sales and related occupations........................................................ 9,386 8,713 666 674

Office and administrative support occupations...................................... 14,180 13,561 611 619

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations..................... 10,329 9,342 730 736

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations.......................................... 623 611 411 403

Construction and extraction occupations............................................. 5,293 4,832 720 719

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.................................. 4,413 3,900 790 796

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations....................... 13,154 12,194 597 600

Production occupations................................................................. 6,817 6,299 590 602

Transportation and material moving occupations................................... 6,338 5,894 603 598

Men

Management, professional, and related occupations................................. 19,073 18,874 1,258 1,268

Management, business, and financial operations occupations.................... 8,884 8,469 1,358 1,407

Professional and related occupations................................................ 10,189 10,405 1,183 1,176

Service occupations....................................................................... 6,737 6,825 516 558

Sales and office occupations............................................................. 8,926 8,469 748 743

Sales and related occupations........................................................ 5,173 4,848 834 832

Office and administrative support occupations...................................... 3,753 3,621 664 651

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations..................... 9,930 8,926 736 742

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations.......................................... 499 484 413 427

Construction and extraction occupations............................................. 5,186 4,722 720 717

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.................................. 4,245 3,720 791 798

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations....................... 10,566 9,933 643 637

Production occupations................................................................. 5,026 4,778 657 670

Transportation and material moving occupations................................... 5,540 5,155 625 611

Women

Management, professional, and related occupations................................. 20,281 20,231 907 915

Management, business, and financial operations occupations.................... 7,489 7,124 952 974

Professional and related occupations................................................ 12,792 13,107 879 887

Service occupations....................................................................... 7,230 7,081 411 420

Sales and office occupations............................................................. 14,640 13,804 587 594

Sales and related occupations........................................................ 4,213 3,864 513 508

Office and administrative support occupations...................................... 10,427 9,940 601 612

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations..................... 399 416 566 632

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations.......................................... 124 127 404 342

Construction and extraction occupations............................................. 107 109 696 828

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.................................. 168 180 743 744

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations....................... 2,588 2,261 452 481

Production occupations................................................................. 1,790 1,522 450 482

Transportation and material moving occupations................................... 798 739 456 480

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, 1st quarter 2010 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............................................... 96,821 $356 $ 499 $ 754 $1,161 $1,774

Men..................................................................... 53,028 382 545 844 1,327 1,990

Women................................................................. 43,794 333 458 665 999 1,459

White................................................................... 78,418 363 511 772 1,188 1,851

Men.................................................................. 44,040 389 568 869 1,362 2,065

Women.............................................................. 34,378 336 470 678 1,019 1,477

Black or African American........................................... 11,375 326 427 610 911 1,290

Men.................................................................. 5,140 340 452 635 983 1,400

Women.............................................................. 6,235 316 415 584 853 1,215

Asian................................................................... 4,802 375 538 859 1,395 2,004

Men.................................................................. 2,670 382 592 940 1,571 2,283

Women.............................................................. 2,132 364 492 767 1,205 1,744

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity......................................... 14,319 298 383 554 825 1,235

Men.................................................................. 8,875 310 398 589 893 1,380

Women.............................................................. 5,444 282 357 504 737 1,044

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Total, 25 years and over............................................... 89,054 377 523 787 1,207 1,859

Less than a high school diploma................................... 6,762 271 338 448 608 822

High school graduates, no college1

............................... 24,601 344 453 624 897 1,242

Some college or associate degree................................. 24,076 386 522 738 1,044 1,442

Bachelor’s degree and higher2.................................... 33,615 550 777 1,140 1,729 2,478

Bachelor’s degree only............................................ 21,714 510 725 1,024 1,535 2,163

Advanced degree.................................................. 11,900 667 929 1,361 1,918 2,898

Men, 25 years and over............................................. 48,818 402 584 887 1,379 2,075

Less than a high school diploma................................ 4,422 294 372 494 680 908

High school graduates, no college1............................ 14,191 377 501 710 1,001 1,427

Some college or associate degree.............................. 12,376 437 601 850 1,169 1,616

Bachelor’s degree and higher2

.................................. 17,829 612 887 1,333 1,916 2,890

Bachelor’s degree only......................................... 11,445 573 824 1,168 1,801 2,503

Advanced degree............................................... 6,384 740 1,059 1,570 2,295 3,319

Women, 25 years and over......................................... 40,236 347 483 698 1,038 1,501

Less than a high school diploma................................ 2,340 231 297 383 501 633

High school graduates, no college1

............................ 10,410 317 408 551 739 997

Some college or associate degree.............................. 11,700 355 479 642 892 1,202

Bachelor’s degree and higher2.................................. 15,786 502 701 978 1,405 1,902

Bachelor’s degree only......................................... 10,269 477 641 895 1,265 1,760

Advanced degree............................................... 5,516 598 840 1,160 1,611 2,277

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

1st

2009

1st

2010

1st

2009

1st

2010

SEX AND AGE

Total, 16 years and over.................................................................. 24,180 25,242 $222 $228

Men, 16 years and over................................................................ 8,007 8,673 218 224

16 to 24 years........................................................................ 3,429 3,593 165 169

25 years and over.................................................................... 4,578 5,080 272 281

Women, 16 years and over............................................................ 16,173 16,569 225 231

16 to 24 years........................................................................ 4,671 4,632 156 161

25 years and over.................................................................... 11,502 11,937 269 269

RACE, HISPANIC OR LATINO ETHNICITY, AND SEX

White...................................................................................... 20,264 20,982 223 229

Men..................................................................................... 6,532 7,092 217 224

Women................................................................................. 13,732 13,890 226 231

Black or African American............................................................. 2,342 2,568 221 224

Men..................................................................................... 858 982 219 221

Women................................................................................. 1,484 1,586 222 227

Asian...................................................................................... 954 919 234 257

Men..................................................................................... 365 329 255 261

Women................................................................................. 589 590 221 254

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity............................................................ 3,296 3,732 224 228

Men..................................................................................... 1,189 1,529 244 237

Women................................................................................. 2,108 2,204 212 222

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.