Figure B3
The 95th percentile continues to pull away from middle- and low-wage workers: Cumulative change in real hourly wages of Black workers, by wage percentile, 1979–2020
| year | 10th | 50th | 95th |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1980 | -7.6% | -1.4% | -0.6% |
| 1981 | -8.7% | -3.9% | -1.7% |
| 1982 | -12.8% | -4.6% | -2.1% |
| 1983 | -15.6% | -4.2% | 1.0% |
| 1984 | -18.7% | -4.3% | 2.3% |
| 1985 | -20.4% | -4.5% | 2.4% |
| 1986 | -20.2% | -2.4% | 1.4% |
| 1987 | -21.1% | -2.2% | 8.5% |
| 1988 | -21.8% | -0.2% | 9.5% |
| 1989 | -21.0% | -3.0% | 5.3% |
| 1990 | -20.8% | -2.4% | 3.1% |
| 1991 | -17.4% | -3.4% | 5.2% |
| 1992 | -17.7% | -2.8% | 7.4% |
| 1993 | -16.9% | -3.4% | 8.5% |
| 1994 | -17.4% | -4.9% | 12.2% |
| 1995 | -15.2% | -4.2% | 10.4% |
| 1996 | -16.3% | -4.5% | 7.2% |
| 1997 | -15.1% | -2.3% | 9.2% |
| 1998 | -10.2% | 2.5% | 13.8% |
| 1999 | -7.0% | 5.0% | 15.9% |
| 2000 | -6.4% | 4.7% | 16.4% |
| 2001 | -6.6% | 5.3% | 20.4% |
| 2002 | -4.0% | 8.2% | 23.3% |
| 2003 | -4.5% | 10.4% | 25.8% |
| 2004 | -4.4% | 11.2% | 26.6% |
| 2005 | -5.2% | 7.0% | 26.1% |
| 2006 | -7.1% | 7.9% | 30.1% |
| 2007 | -6.8% | 6.0% | 27.9% |
| 2008 | -6.7% | 5.7% | 28.7% |
| 2009 | -3.8% | 10.1% | 29.6% |
| 2010 | -2.9% | 9.5% | 30.3% |
| 2011 | -5.8% | 6.0% | 32.3% |
| 2012 | -7.7% | 3.2% | 32.8% |
| 2013 | -8.0% | 5.5% | 32.8% |
| 2014 | -9.2% | 3.3% | 34.8% |
| 2015 | -8.5% | 4.1% | 38.8% |
| 2016 | -5.3% | 8.7% | 39.0% |
| 2017 | -2.8% | 6.9% | 36.5% |
| 2018 | -2.4% | 5.3% | 47.0% |
| 2019 | 0.6% | 10.5% | 44.3% |
| 2020 | 3.1% | 18.9% | 57.9% |
Notes: Shaded areas denote recessions. The xth-percentile wage is the wage at which x% of wage earners earn less and (100−x)% earn more.
Source: Economic Policy Institute Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 1.0.15, (2021), https://microdata.epi.org.
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