October 02, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Differences in earnings by age and sex in 2005

In 2005, median weekly earnings were highest for women and men aged 45 to 64. Among women, 45- to 54-year-olds had median weekly earnings of $644, little different than the $639 median for 55- to 64-year-olds. Among men, median weekly earnings also were about the same for those aged 45 to 54 ($853) as for those aged 55 to 64 ($855).

[Chart data—TXT]

The difference between women’s and men’s earnings was much larger among middle-aged and older workers than among younger workers. For instance, among workers aged 45 to 54, women earned 75 percent as much as men. By comparison, among workers 25 to 34 years old, women earned 89 percent as much as men, and among 16- to 24-year-olds, the earnings ratio rose to 93 percent.

These data on earnings are from the Current Population Survey. Earnings data in this article are median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers. For more information see "Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2005," BLS Report 995 (PDF 290K).