Usual Weekly Earnings: Another Look at Intergroup Differences and Basic Trends.

Abstract

Interest in earnings differences among various population groups-men and women, blacks and whites, young and old-has grown over the years since data on usual weekly earnings were first published in the Review a decade ago. Because of this, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has expanded the collection and publication of the demographically oriented data on weekly and hourly earnings from the Current Population Survey (cps). Previously collected only in May of each year, these data are now obtained monthly from one-fourth of the cps sample and are published on a quarterly basis.' Aggregation of the new data into annual averages yields the most reliable measures of the earnings differences among the various population groups . At the same time, the quarterly data, although subject to lower statistical reliability,' give at least a broad indication of how the earnings of the various demographic groups are affected by cyclical (or short-term) changes in economic conditions . This article focuses first on the annual average data for 1981 to re-examine the intergroup differences in earnings among both fulland part-time workers and then looks at some of the quarterly data to see how the earnings of the various groups have been