July 23, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Men's earnings at peak at age 45-54

Men between the ages of 45 and 54 years had the highest earnings of any age group in the last quarter, but not by a large margin.

[Chart data—TXT]

The usual median weekly earnings of 45-to 54-year-old men were $757 in the three-month period from April to June 1999. This was just $42 above the median for the next highest group, 55-to 64-year-old men, and $51 above the third-highest group, 35-to 44-year olds. Therefore, the highest earnings level was less than 7 percent above the third-highest.

The overall median weekly earnings for men were $617. The youngest men, ages 16 to 24, earned the least per week ($344). In the top age group, 65 and over, median weekly earnings were $421.

Data on weekly earnings are from the Current Population Survey. Earnings figures are for full-time wage and salary workers. Find more information on earnings in "Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers: Second Quarter 1999," news release USDL 99-197.