Table 1
Real average hourly wages for young workers, 1989–2011
| High school graduates | College graduates | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Men | Women | All | Men | Women | |
| 1989 | $9.48 | $10.21 | $8.69 | $16.02 | $16.65 | $15.57 |
| 1995 | 9.21 | 9.98 | 8.36 | 14.92 | 15.65 | 14.40 |
| 2000 | 10.63 | 11.37 | 9.75 | 17.77 | 18.58 | 17.21 |
| 2007 | 10.51 | 11.31 | 9.47 | 17.61 | 19.27 | 16.41 |
| 2011 | 9.45 | 10.00 | 8.73 | 16.81 | 18.29 | 15.74 |
| 1989–2000 | 12.1% | 11.3% | 12.1% | 10.9% | 11.6% | 10.5% |
| 1989–1995 | -2.9 | -2.3 | -3.9 | -6.9 | -6.0 | -7.5 |
| 1995–2000 | 15.4 | 13.9 | 16.6 | 19.1 | 18.7 | 19.5 |
| 2000–2011 | -11.1 | -12.0 | -10.5 | -5.4 | -1.6 | -8.5 |
| 2000–2007 | -1.1 | -0.5 | -2.8 | -0.9 | 3.7 | -4.6 |
| 2007–2011 | -10.1 | -11.6 | -7.9 | -4.6 | -5.1 | -4.1 |
Note: Data are for college graduates age 21–24 and high school graduates age 17–20 who are not enrolled in further schooling.
Source: Authors' analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata
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