Young workers have experienced strongest wage growth in the pandemic business cycle: Real wage changes for high school graduates four years from prior peak, in current and last three business cycles
| High school graduates, 18-21 | |
|---|---|
| Jul 1990 – Aug 1994 |
-5.5% |
| Mar 2001 – Apr 2005 |
-4.3% |
| Dec 2007 – Jan 2012 |
-10.6% |
| Feb 2020 – Mar 2024 |
9.4% |
Notes: This series is based on 12-month moving averages. The most recent data point uses pooled data from April 2023 through March 2024. Data sample includes only those high school graduates ages 18–21 who have not attained a high school degree and who are not enrolled in further schooling.
Source: EPI analysis of the Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata, EPI Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 1.0.51 (2024), https://microdata.epi.org.