Table 4.14
Hourly wages by education, 1973–2011 (2011 dollars)
| Less than high school |
High school |
Some college |
College degree |
Advanced degree |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real hourly wage | |||||
| 1973 | $14.93 | $17.11 | $18.43 | $24.96 | $30.17 |
| 1979 | 14.85 | 16.67 | 17.82 | 23.36 | 28.53 |
| 1989 | 12.69 | 15.47 | 17.37 | 24.36 | 31.40 |
| 1995 | 11.46 | 15.15 | 16.93 | 25.16 | 33.10 |
| 2000 | 11.92 | 16.04 | 18.23 | 27.99 | 35.42 |
| 2007 | 12.34 | 16.24 | 18.31 | 28.65 | 36.31 |
| 2011 | 11.82 | 15.89 | 17.57 | 27.99 | 36.40 |
| Annual percent change | |||||
| 1973–1979 | -0.1% | -0.4% | -0.6% | -1.1% | -0.9% |
| 1979–1989 | -1.6 | -0.7 | -0.3 | 0.4 | 1.0 |
| 1989–2000 | -0.6 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 1.1 |
| 1989–1995 | -1.7 | -0.3 | -0.4 | 0.5 | 0.9 |
| 1995–2000 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 1.4 |
| 2000–2007 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| 2007–2011 | -1.1 | -0.5 | -1.0 | -0.6 | 0.1 |
| Share of employment | |||||
| 1973 | 28.5% | 38.3% | 18.5% | 10.1% | 4.5% |
| 1979 | 20.1 | 38.5 | 22.8 | 12.7 | 6.0 |
| 1989 | 13.7 | 36.9 | 26.0 | 15.6 | 7.9 |
| 2000 | 10.8 | 31.9 | 29.8 | 18.8 | 8.7 |
| 2007 | 9.8 | 29.6 | 29.6 | 20.9 | 10.1 |
| 2011 | 8.4 | 28.0 | 30.4 | 21.9 | 11.3 |
Source: Authors' analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata
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