Economic News Release

Table 5.  Average annual percent growth in inflation-adjusted hourly earnings from 1978-2006
by educational attainment, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and age

                                            Average annual percent growth in hourly earnings

         Characteristic                        Ages 18  Ages 23  Ages 28  Ages 33  Ages 38
                                                to 22    to 27    to 32    to 37    to 42

Total .....................................      7.0      5.3      3.1      3.6      1.4
  Less than a high school diploma  ........      5.7      2.8      1.2      3.6      0.0
  High school graduates, no college........      5.9      3.6      2.5      3.1      0.7
  Some college or associate degree.........      6.1      4.9      2.7      3.7      2.1
  Bachelor's degree and higher.............      9.7      9.2      5.2      4.1      2.3

Men .......................................      7.1      5.8      3.3      3.8      1.3
  Less than a high school diploma  ........      5.2      3.0      1.3      3.2     -0.9
  High school graduates, no college .......      6.8      3.9      2.3      3.1      0.7
  Some college or associate degree.........      6.7      5.9      3.2      3.9      2.7
  Bachelor's degree and higher.............      8.7     10.4      6.0      5.0      2.2

Women .....................................      6.8      4.8      2.9      3.3      1.5
  Less than a high school diploma .........      6.7      2.5      0.9      4.1      1.4
  High school graduates, no college .......      4.8      3.2      2.8      3.1      0.8
  Some college or associate degree.........      5.7      4.1      2.3      3.4      1.6
  Bachelor's degree and higher.............     10.6      8.1      4.3      3.2      2.3

White non-Hispanic ........................      7.3      5.5      3.2      3.7      1.4
  Less than a high school diploma .........      6.6      2.8      1.1      4.3     -0.1
  High school graduates, no college .......      6.1      3.5      2.5      3.2      0.8
  Some college or associate degree.........      6.3      5.1      2.7      3.6      1.9
  Bachelor's degree and higher.............      9.9      9.4      5.1      4.1      2.3

Black non-Hispanic ........................      5.4      4.5      2.9      3.2      1.1
  Less than a high school diploma .........      4.1      2.6      2.0      1.2      0.6
  High school graduates, no college .......      4.7      4.1      2.4      3.1     -0.1
  Some college or associate degree.........      5.5      4.3      2.8      4.0      2.3
  Bachelor's degree and higher.............      8.4      8.3      5.5      3.8      2.6

Hispanic or Latino.........................      6.2      4.1      2.6      2.9      2.2
  Less than a high school diploma .........      3.6      3.9      0.4      2.6      0.7
  High school graduates, no college .......      6.8      3.1      2.6      2.4      1.3
  Some college or associate degree.........      6.5      3.9      3.2      2.7      3.8
  Bachelor's degree and higher.............      8.3      7.8      4.6      5.3      3.5


   1  Includes persons with a high school diploma or equivalent.
   2  Includes persons with bachelor's, master's, professional, or doctoral degrees.
   NOTE:  The first column excludes individuals who turned age 18 before 1978.  The last
column excludes individuals who were not yet age 43 when interviewed in 2006-07.
   The CPI-U-RS was used to adjust hourly earnings to 2006 dollars, prior to calculating 
the growth rates.
   The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 consists of men and women who were born in
the years 1957-64 and were ages 14 to 22 when first interviewed in 1979.  These individuals 
were ages 41 to 50 in 2006-07.  Educational attainment is defined as of the 2006-07 survey.  Race 
and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity groups are mutually exclusive but not exhaustive.  Other 
race groups, which are included in the overall totals, are not shown separately because their
representation in the survey sample is not sufficiently large to provide statistically 
reliable estimates.