Figure A
Cumulative percent change in real annual wages, by wage group, 1979–2018
| Year | Bottom 90% | 90–95th | 95th–99th | Top 1% | Net “usable” productivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1980 | -2.2% | -1.3% | -0.2% | 3.4% | -2.7% |
| 1981 | -2.6% | -1.1% | -0.1% | 3.1% | -1.0% |
| 1982 | -3.9% | -0.9% | 2.2% | 9.5% | -1.7% |
| 1983 | -3.7% | 0.7% | 3.6% | 13.6% | 1.3% |
| 1984 | -1.8% | 2.5% | 6.0% | 20.7% | 3.7% |
| 1985 | -1.0% | 4.0% | 8.1% | 23.0% | 5.4% |
| 1986 | 1.1% | 6.4% | 12.5% | 32.6% | 7.8% |
| 1987 | 2.1% | 7.4% | 15.0% | 53.5% | 7.1% |
| 1988 | 2.2% | 8.2% | 18.4% | 68.7% | 8.7% |
| 1989 | 1.8% | 8.1% | 18.2% | 63.3% | 9.4% |
| 1990 | 1.1% | 7.1% | 16.5% | 64.8% | 9.9% |
| 1991 | 0.0% | 6.9% | 15.5% | 53.6% | 10.5% |
| 1992 | 1.5% | 9.0% | 19.2% | 74.3% | 14.7% |
| 1993 | 0.9% | 9.2% | 20.6% | 67.9% | 15.3% |
| 1994 | 2.0% | 11.2% | 21.0% | 63.4% | 16.4% |
| 1995 | 2.8% | 12.2% | 24.1% | 70.2% | 16.4% |
| 1996 | 4.1% | 13.6% | 27.0% | 79.0% | 17.9% |
| 1997 | 7.0% | 16.9% | 32.3% | 100.6% | 19.9% |
| 1998 | 11.0% | 21.3% | 38.2% | 113.1% | 22.2% |
| 1999 | 13.2% | 25.0% | 42.9% | 129.7% | 25.0% |
| 2000 | 15.3% | 26.8% | 48.0% | 144.8% | 26.4% |
| 2001 | 15.7% | 29.0% | 46.4% | 130.4% | 27.7% |
| 2002 | 15.6% | 29.0% | 43.2% | 109.3% | 31.6% |
| 2003 | 15.7% | 30.3% | 44.9% | 113.9% | 35.8% |
| 2004 | 15.6% | 30.8% | 47.1% | 127.2% | 39.5% |
| 2005 | 15.0% | 30.8% | 48.6% | 135.3% | 41.5% |
| 2006 | 15.7% | 32.5% | 52.1% | 143.4% | 42.2% |
| 2007 | 16.7% | 34.1% | 55.4% | 156.2% | 43.2% |
| 2008 | 16.0% | 34.2% | 53.8% | 137.5% | 41.3% |
| 2009 | 16.0% | 35.3% | 53.5% | 116.2% | 46.8% |
| 2010 | 15.2% | 35.7% | 55.7% | 130.8% | 50.7% |
| 2011 | 14.5% | 36.2% | 56.9% | 134.0% | 49.3% |
| 2012 | 14.6% | 36.3% | 58.3% | 148.3% | 49.8% |
| 2013 | 15.1% | 37.1% | 59.4% | 137.5% | 50.9% |
| 2014 | 16.6% | 38.7% | 62.3% | 149.0% | 51.9% |
| 2015 | 20.5% | 43.1% | 67.9% | 156.2% | 54.5% |
| 2016 | 21.0% | 43.5% | 68.1% | 148.1% | 54.7% |
| 2017 | 22.2% | 44.2% | 69.3% | 157.3% | 55.9% |
| 2018 | 23.9% | 45.7% | 71.3% | 157.8% | 57.2% |
Source: EPI analysis of Kopczuk, Saez, and Song (2010, Table A3) and Social Security Administration wage statistics. Unpublished Total Economy Productivity data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Labor Productivity and Costs program; and Bureau of Economic Analysis National Income and Product Accounts.
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