November 3, 1998 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Many retail trade workers paid less
than $10 per hour
Ninety-one percent of employees in eating and
drinking places were paid less than 10.00 per hour in 1996. This industry had the highest
proportion of employees in that wage category. The eating and drinking places industry
includes the sale of prepared foods and drinks for consumption on the premises, and lunch
counters and refreshments stands selling food and drink for immediate consumption.
Note that workers, particularly in eating and drinking places, might report making less than
$5.75 per hour because items such as tips are excluded from the "wage"
definition.
[Table dataTXT]
The general merchandise stores industry, with almost 84 percent of its
employment in wage ranges below $10.00 per hour, followed second to eating and drinking
places. Unlike eating and drinking places, where a majority of workers earned less than
$5.75 per hour, the largest percentage (44 percent) of employment per wage range for
general merchandise stores fell between $5.75 and $8.49 an hour.
Three other industries in retail trade reported that 70 percent or more of employees
earned less than $10.00 per hour: Apparel and accessory stores, food stores, and
miscellaneous retail establishments. Outside of retail trade, about 81 percent of workers
in apparel and other textile products and 80 percent of workers in hotels and other
lodging places earned less than $10.00 per hour.
These data are a product of the BLS Occupational
Employment Statistics program. For a summary on which industries
provide the highest wages, see "Securities and commodities brokers lead industries earning high
wages," The Editor's Desk. Additional information and
detailed data may be obtained from Occupational Employment and Wages, Bulletin
2506, August 1998.
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
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Read more »