Median weekly earnings of the nation's 116.3 million full-time wage and salary workers were $1,010 in the fourth quarter of 2021 (not seasonally adjusted), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This was 2.6 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 6.7 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) over the same period.
Data on usual weekly earnings are collected as part of the Current Population Survey, a nationwide sample survey of households in which respondents are asked, among other things, how much each wage and salary worker usually earns. (See the Technical Note in this news release.) Data shown in this news release are not seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified.
Highlights from the fourth-quarter data:
--Median weekly earnings of full-time workers were $1,010 in the fourth quarter of 2021. Women had median weekly earnings of $930, or 84.3 percent of the $1,103 median for men. (See table 2.)
--The women's-to-men's earnings ratio varied by race and ethnicity. White women earned 83.2 percent as much as their male counterparts, compared with 99.4 percent for Black women, 77.7 percent for Asian women, and 86.7 percent for Hispanic women. (See table 2.)
--Among the major race and ethnicity groups, median weekly earnings of Blacks ($805) and Hispanics ($799) working full-time jobs were lower than those of Whites ($1,030) and Asians ($1,384). By sex, median weekly earnings for Black men were $807, or 71.5 percent of the median for White men ($1,129). Median earnings for Hispanic men were $845, or 74.8 percent of the median for White men. The difference was less among women, as Black women's median earnings were $802, or 85.4 percent of those for White women ($939), and earnings for Hispanic women were $733, or 78.1 percent of those for White women. Earnings of Asian men ($1,499) and women ($1,165) were higher than those of their White counterparts. (See table 2.)
--By age, usual weekly earnings were highest for men ages 35 to 64: median weekly earnings were $1,232 for men ages 35 to 44, $1,260 for men ages 45 to 54, and $1,311 for men ages 55 to 64. Among women, usual weekly earnings were also highest for workers ages 35 to 64: median weekly earnings were $1,003 for women ages 35 to 44, $1,035 for women ages 45 to 54, and $994 for women ages 55 to 64. Men and women ages 16 to 24 had the lowest median weekly earnings, $662 and $623, respectively. Men's and women's earnings were closer among younger workers than older workers; for example, women ages 16 to 24 earned 94.1 percent as much as men in the same age group, while the women's-to-men's earnings ratio was 76.9 percent for those age 55 and over. (See table 3.)
--Among the major occupational groups, persons employed full time in management, professional, and related occupations had the highest median weekly earnings--$1,618 for men and $1,235 for women. Men and women employed in service occupations earned the least, $728 and $638, respectively. (See table 4.)
--By educational attainment, full-time workers age 25 and over without a high school diploma had median weekly earnings of $651, compared with $831 for high school graduates (no college) and $1,467 for those holding at least a bachelor's degree. Among college graduates with advanced degrees (master's, professional, and doctoral degrees), the highest earning 10 percent of male workers made $4,317 or more per week, compared with $2,922 or more for their female counterparts. (See table 5.)
--Seasonally adjusted median weekly earnings were $1,008 in the fourth quarter of 2021, little changed from the previous quarter. (See table 1.)
2021 Annual Averages
In addition to the data for the fourth quarter, this news release includes 2021 annual averages on median weekly earnings for major demographic, occupational, and educational attainment groups. (See tables 7, 8, and 9.) Annual average data on median usual weekly earnings for men and women by detailed occupational categories will be posted online at www.bls.gov/cps/tables.htm#weekearn when they become available.
