January 27, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Women's earnings 76 percent of
median for men in 1998
The median weekly earnings of women working
full-time during 1998 were $456, compared with $598 for men. The female-male earnings
ratio of 76 percent was slightly higher than the 74 percent reported in 1997. In 1998, the
female-male earnings ratio was higher among Hispanics (86 percent) and blacks (85 percent)
than it was among whites.
[Chart data—TXT]
Median weekly earnings for white men were $615, compared to $468 for
white women. Median earnings for black men were $468 per week; black women’s
were $400.
Median earnings for Hispanics were lower than those for blacks or for whites. Hispanic men had the second lowest average weekly earnings at $390, while Hispanic women
had the lowest at $337.
These earnings data are produced by the Current
Population Survey. More information can be found in news release USDL
99-15, "Usual Weekly
Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers, Fourth Quarter 1998."Â The difference
in earnings by gender and other demographic characteristics reflects a variety of
influences, including variations in the distribution of workers by occupation, industry,
firm size, and geographic region.
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.
.
Read more »