May 14, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Earning patterns for women working part-time contrast with full-timers'

Women who worked part-time—less than 35 hours per week—made up about one-fourth of all female wage and salary workers in 1998. Their median weekly earnings were $161, about 35 percent of the median for women working full-time. Earnings for men who worked part-time were $146. That was 9.3 percent lower than female part-timers’ earnings.

[Chart data—TXT]

Unlike full-time workers, whose earnings increased for each successive 10-year age division within the 25-to-54 year category, weekly earnings for female part-timers were essentially the same regardless of age. Female part-timers younger than 25 or older than 55, however, earned less than did those in the central age groups.

Also in contrast to full-time workers, weekly earnings for both male and female part-timers varied little by race or Hispanic origin.

These earnings data are a product of the Current Population Survey. For more information, see "Highlights of Women’s Earnings," BLS Report 928.