Contribution of hours versus hourly wages to annual wage growth for working-age households, by income group, selected years, 1979–2012 (2012 dollars)
| Period changes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 1989 | 1995 | 2000 | 2007 | 2012 | 1979–2007 | 2007–2012 | 1995–2000 | |
| Real average annual wages | |||||||||
| Second fifth | $33,471 | $34,472 | $33,377 | $37,580 | $36,725 | $32,693 | 9.3% | -11.0% | 12.6% |
| Middle fifth | $50,279 | $52,800 | $51,608 | $57,501 | $56,710 | $52,477 | 12.0% | -7.5% | 11.4% |
| Fourth fifth | $67,785 | $73,463 | $74,156 | $82,464 | $82,902 | $78,831 | 20.1% | -4.9% | 11.2% |
| Average of above | $50,512 | $53,578 | $53,047 | $59,182 | $58,779 | $54,667 | 13.8% | -7.8% | 11.7% |
| Annual hours worked | |||||||||
| Second fifth | 2,543 | 2,797 | 2,811 | 2,908 | 2,787 | 2,663 | 9.2% | -4.5% | 3.5% |
| Middle fifth | 3,007 | 3,273 | 3,323 | 3,395 | 3,335 | 3,228 | 10.3% | -3.2% | 2.2% |
| Fourth fifth | 3,424 | 3,604 | 3,688 | 3,774 | 3,719 | 3,602 | 8.3% | -3.1% | 2.3% |
| Average of above | 2,991 | 3,225 | 3,274 | 3,359 | 3,280 | 3,165 | 9.2% | -3.5% | 2.6% |
| Implicit household wages per hour worked | |||||||||
| Second fifth | $13.16 | $12.32 | $11.87 | $12.92 | $13.18 | $12.28 | 0.1% | -6.8% | 8.8% |
| Middle fifth | $16.72 | $16.13 | $15.53 | $16.94 | $17.01 | $16.26 | 1.7% | -4.4% | 9.0% |
| Fourth fifth | $19.80 | $20.38 | $20.11 | $21.85 | $22.29 | $21.88 | 11.8% | -1.8% | 8.7% |
| Average of above | $16.56 | $16.28 | $15.84 | $17.24 | $17.49 | $16.81 | 5.5% | -3.9% | 8.8% |
Contributions to annual wage growth |
|||||||||
| Hours worked | |||||||||
| Second fifth | – | – | – | – | – | – | 99.0% | 40.6% | 27.4% |
| Middle fifth | – | – | – | – | – | – | 85.9% | 42.7% | 19.1% |
| Fourth fifth | – | – | – | – | – | – | 41.1% | 63.9% | 20.8% |
| Average of above | 75.3% | 49.1% | 22.4% | ||||||
| Hourly wages | |||||||||
| Second fifth | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1.0% | 62.2% | 70.1% |
| Middle fifth | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14.1% | 59.2% | 79.2% |
| Fourth fifth | – | – | – | – | – | – | 58.9% | 37.2% | 77.4% |
| Average of above | 24.7% | 52.9% | 75.6% | ||||||
Note: Working-age households are those headed by someone under age 65. Percentage changes are approximated by taking the difference of natural logs of wages and hours.
Source: Authors' analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement microdata