The Politics of Health Policy

Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Debates on Income Inequality and Social Cohesion – Employment, Income and Health in the U.S.
April 27, 2018

Elise Gould
Senior Economist
Economic Policy Institute

Economic Inequality

Incomes
Wealth
Health
Mobility
Poverty

Growing economic inequality is rooted in wage inequality

Wage trends
Gender and racial wage gaps
Wages by educational attainment
Health and pension coverage

Why did this happen? What can we do about this?

CEO pay
Labor standards (e.g. minimum wage, overtime)
Unions
Prioritize full employment (e.g. Federal Reserve policy)

What can happen if we do raise wages?

EPI wage calculator
Closing gender and inequality wage gaps
Reduce poverty
Increase incomes

Average annual family income growth, by income group, 1947–2016

	1947-1979	1979-2007	2007-2016
Lowest fifth	2.52%	0.02%	-0.04%
Second fifth	2.21%	0.37%	-0.01%
Third fifth	2.39%	0.59%	-0.03%
Fourth fifth	2.43%	0.89%	0.16%
80th-95th percentile	2.36%	1.17%	0.32%
Top 5 percent	1.87%	1.99%	1.06%

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Note: Data are for money income. Because of a redesign in the CPS ASEC income questions in 2013, we imputed the historical series using the ratio of the old and new method in 2013.

Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement Historical Income Tables (Table F-3)

Updated from: Figure 2C in The State of Working America, 12th Edition (Mishel et al. 2012), an Economic Policy Institute book published by Cornell University Press in 2012

Change in real annual average household income, by income group, 1979–2013

	Bottom fifth	Middle fifth	81st–90th percentile	91st–95th percentile	96th–99th percentile	Top 1 percent
1979-01-01	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
1980-01-01	-2.9%	-4.1%	-2.8%	-1.9%	-4.0%	-4.5%
1981-01-01	-3.8%	-5.0%	-3.1%	-2.7%	-5.3%	-5.5%
1982-01-01	-4.8%	-6.5%	-3.7%	-3.7%	-5.5%	-0.2%
1983-01-01	-6.7%	-8.0%	-2.7%	-1.2%	-2.1%	8.7%
1984-01-01	-4.6%	-3.1%	3.5%	6.3%	5.8%	21.0%
1985-01-01	-2.5%	-2.4%	2.6%	5.7%	7.1%	28.6%
1986-01-01	-0.7%	0.1%	8.2%	10.9%	18.0%	69.1%
1987-01-01	-1.0%	-1.2%	8.6%	13.4%	15.8%	36.4%
1988-01-01	1.7%	0.7%	10.2%	15.1%	20.3%	70.7%
1989-01-01	5.1%	1.2%	12.1%	17.7%	22.4%	59.0%
1990-01-01	9.9%	1.8%	10.1%	14.5%	18.6%	53.1%
1991-01-01	12.5%	-0.8%	8.6%	13.0%	15.6%	36.6%
1992-01-01	15.0%	0.2%	9.6%	14.9%	20.7%	55.6%
1993-01-01	18.0%	0.5%	10.9%	16.0%	21.0%	49.0%
1994-01-01	19.4%	1.4%	13.3%	17.7%	23.8%	53.9%
1995-01-01	23.9%	4.6%	16.2%	21.7%	30.0%	70.8%
1996-01-01	23.7%	5.4%	18.0%	25.7%	34.7%	87.3%
1997-01-01	26.6%	7.2%	20.5%	29.7%	42.8%	115.5%
1998-01-01	30.1%	10.1%	24.8%	34.6%	50.7%	142.5%
1999-01-01	30.8%	13.5%	28.7%	38.9%	56.7%	163.2%
2000-01-01	26.8%	12.9%	30.7%	42.1%	59.8%	187.2%
2001-01-01	30.8%	13.4%	27.8%	37.0%	49.4%	126.5%
2002-01-01	31.0%	10.8%	25.8%	34.2%	43.3%	100.6%
2003-01-01	30.6%	10.5%	27.3%	36.0%	47.9%	112.6%
2004-01-01	36.3%	14.2%	31.6%	41.7%	56.4%	153.3%
2005-01-01	41.7%	15.5%	33.6%	46.4%	68.5%	205.5%
2006-01-01	45.0%	15.8%	36.3%	49.2%	72.6%	228.8%
2007-01-01	45.5%	19.5%	38.7%	53.0%	78.5%	244.4%
2008-01-01	43.0%	14.7%	34.8%	46.7%	63.5%	178.5%
2009-01-01	48.9%	13.4%	32.0%	42.7%	53.7%	118.8%
2010-01-01	48.9%	13.3%	32.8%	45.4%	59.3%	152.9%
2011-01-01	48.4%	10.9%	32.7%	45.3%	60.7%	148.4%
2012-01-01	47.7%	11.0%	34.5%	47.1%	69.1%	207.6%
2013-01-01	48.0%	12.8%	36.0%	51.5%	70.4%	160.0%

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Note: Data are for comprehensive income. Shaded areas denote recessions.

Source: EPI analysis of data from the Congressional Budget Office (2016)

Share of total wealth growth accruing to various wealth groups, 1983–2010


Bottom fifth	-2.6%
Second fifth	-1.3%
Middle fifth	-1.5%
Fourth fifth	4.3%
80–90%	10.9%
90–95%	16.0%
95–99%	35.9%
Top 1%	38.3%

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Source: Authors' analysis of Wolff (2012)

A typical white family has 10x the wealth of a typical black family: Median household wealth (for families with wealth greater than zero) and share of households with zero or negative net wealth , by race and ethnicity, 2016 (2016 dollars)

	Share of zero or negative net wealth in 2016	Median household wealth
White, non Hispanic	9%	$171,000
Black	19%	$17,600
Hispanic	13%	$20,700

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Source: EPI analysis of Survey of Consumer Finances Combined Extract Data

Life expectancy for male Social Security-covered workers (age 60) by earnings group, 1972–2001

	1972	2001
Bottom half of earnings distribution	77.7	79.6
Top half of earnings distribution	78.9	85.4

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Source: EPI analysis of Waldron (2007).

Life expectancy, by year of birth, gender, and wealth decile

Source: Brookings Institution; U. of Michigan Health and Retirement Study

By: The New York Times

Intergenerational mobility and income inequality in 22 countries

Country	Intergenerational earnings elasticity	Gini coefficient
Argentina	0.49	0.458
Australia	0.26	0.352
Brazil	0.58	0.539
Canada	0.19	0.326
Chile	0.52	0.523
China	0.6	0.415
Denmark	0.15	0.247
Finland	0.18	0.269
France	0.41	0.327
Germany	0.32	0.283
Italy	0.5	0.36
Japan	0.34	0.249
New Zealand	0.29	0.362
Norway	0.17	0.258
Pakistan	0.46	0.327
Peru	0.67	0.48
Singapore	0.44	0.425
Spain	0.4	0.347
Sweden	0.27	0.25
Switzerland	0.46	0.337
United Kingdom	0.5	0.36
United States	0.47	0.408

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Note: The higher the Gini coefficient, the higher the inequality. The higher the intergenerational earnings elasticity, the lower the extent of mobility.

Source: Authors' adaptation of Corak (2012, Figure 2)

Probability that sons of fathers in the bottom 20 percent of the earnings distribution end up in the bottom or top 40 percent as adults, by country

	Low-earning father, son in bottom 40 percent	Low-earning father, son in top 40 percent
United States	66.7%	18.1%
United Kingdom	53.8%	29.6%
Norway	51.6%	27.8%
Finland	51.2%	28.5%
Sweden	50.1%	28.5%
Denmark	47.3%	33.3%

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Source: Authors' analysis of Jantti et al. (2006)

Poverty rate, actual and simulated, 1959–2016

	Simulated poverty rate*	Actual poverty rate
1959-01-01	22.0%	22.4%
1960-01-01	21.9%	22.2%
1961-01-01	21.8%	21.9%
1962-01-01	20.6%	21.0%
1963-01-01	19.8%	19.5%
1964-01-01	18.6%	19.0%
1965-01-01	17.1%	17.3%
1966-01-01	15.4%	14.7%
1967-01-01	14.9%	14.2%
1968-01-01	13.7%	12.8%
1969-01-01	13.0%	12.1%
1970-01-01	13.3%	12.6%
1971-01-01	12.6%	12.5%
1972-01-01	11.1%	11.9%
1973-01-01	9.4%	11.1%
1974-01-01	9.9%	11.2%
1975-01-01	10.4%	12.3%
1976-01-01	8.7%	11.8%
1977-01-01	7.3%	11.6%
1978-01-01	5.5%	11.4%
1979-01-01	4.7%	11.7%
1980-01-01	5.3%	13.0%
1981-01-01	4.6%	14.0%
1982-01-01	5.9%	15.0%
1983-01-01	4.3%	15.2%
1984-01-01	1.6%	14.4%
1985-01-01	0.1%	14.0%
1986-01-01	-1.1%	13.6%
1987-01-01		13.4%
1988-01-01		13.0%
1989-01-01		12.8%
1990-01-01		13.5%
1991-01-01		14.2%
1992-01-01		14.8%
1993-01-01		15.1%
1994-01-01		14.5%
1995-01-01		13.8%
1996-01-01		13.7%
1997-01-01		13.3%
1998-01-01		12.7%
1999-01-01		11.9%
2000-01-01		11.3%
2001-01-01		11.7%
2002-01-01		12.1%
2003-01-01		12.5%
2004-01-01		12.7%
2005-01-01		12.6%
2006-01-01		12.3%
2007-01-01		12.5%
2008-01-01		13.2%
2009-01-01		14.3%
2010-01-01		15.1%
2011-01-01		15.0%
2012-01-01		15.0%
2013-01-01		14.8%
2014-01-01		14.8%
2015-01-01		13.5%
2016-01-01		12.7%

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* Simulated poverty rate is based on a model of the statistical relationship between growth in per capita GDP and poverty that prevailed between 1959 and 1973.

Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement Historical Poverty Tables (Tables 2 and 4), Bureau of Economic Analysis National Income Product Accounts public data, and Danziger and Gottschalk (1995)

Impact on poverty rate of economic, demographic, and education changes, 1979–2013

Factor	Effect
Inequality	7.1
Growth	-3.4
Education	-2.9
Family structure	1.6
Race	1.1
Interaction	-0.5

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Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement microdata based on Danziger and Gottschalk (1995)

Non-elderly poverty rates, market-based and post-tax, post-transfer, 1989, 2007, 2013

	Market-based	Post-tax, post-transfer
1989	16.0%	11.8%
2007	16.2%	10.5%
2013	19.5%	12.1%

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Note: Non-elderly population refers to those under age 65. Market-based poverty rates are those based on income earned from work and capital, before factoring in government-provided support. Post-tax, post-transfer poverty rates are those after all government supports (such as cash transfers, in-kind programs, and tax benefits) have been included.

Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement

Growing economic inequality is rooted in wage inequality

Productivity growth and hourly compensation growth, 1948–2016

Year	Hourly compensation	Productivity
1948	0.00%	0.00%
1949	6.25%	1.55%
1950	10.48%	9.33%
1951	11.76%	12.35%
1952	15.04%	15.63%
1953	20.85%	19.55%
1954	23.52%	21.56%
1955	28.74%	26.46%
1956	33.95%	26.66%
1957	37.14%	30.09%
1958	38.16%	32.78%
1959	42.55%	37.64%
1960	45.50%	40.05%
1961	47.99%	44.36%
1962	52.48%	49.79%
1963	55.03%	55.01%
1964	58.51%	59.99%
1965	62.47%	64.94%
1966	64.90%	70.00%
1967	66.90%	72.05%
1968	70.74%	77.16%
1969	74.67%	77.88%
1970	76.61%	80.37%
1971	82.02%	87.10%
1972	91.25%	92.05%
1973	91.31%	96.75%
1974	86.98%	93.66%
1975	86.86%	97.92%
1976	89.68%	103.44%
1977	93.15%	105.79%
1978	95.98%	107.79%
1979	93.45%	108.14%
1980	88.59%	106.57%
1981	87.61%	111.02%
1982	87.79%	107.88%
1983	88.37%	114.13%
1984	86.96%	119.73%
1985	86.33%	123.43%
1986	87.34%	127.99%
1987	84.62%	129.12%
1988	83.87%	131.78%
1989	83.72%	133.65%
1990	82.24%	136.98%
1991	81.90%	138.89%
1992	83.07%	147.56%
1993	83.41%	148.37%
1994	83.84%	150.75%
1995	82.73%	150.86%
1996	82.81%	156.92%
1997	84.82%	160.50%
1998	89.19%	165.71%
1999	91.94%	172.08%
2000	92.92%	178.50%
2001	95.59%	182.84%
2002	99.40%	190.72%
2003	101.66%	200.17%
2004	100.87%	208.21%
2005	100.07%	213.58%
2006	100.24%	215.48%
2007	101.73%	217.70%
2008	101.74%	218.24%
2009	109.72%	224.75%
2010	111.56%	234.28%
2011	109.09%	234.67%
2012	107.30%	236.51%
2013	108.34%	237.57%
2014	109.22%	239.30%
2015	112.81%	241.08%
2016	115.14%	241.76%

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Notes: Data are for compensation (wages and benefits) of production/nonsupervisory workers in the private sector and net productivity of the total economy. “Net productivity” is the growth of output of goods and services less depreciation per hour worked.

Source: EPI analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics and Bureau of Economic Analysis data. Updated from Figure A in Raising America’s Pay: Why It’s Our Central Economic Policy Challenge.

Cumulative percent change in real annual wages, by wage group, 1979–2016

Year	Bottom 90%	Top 1%
1979	0.0%	0.0%
1980	-2.2%	3.4%
1981	-2.6%	3.1%
1982	-3.9%	9.5%
1983	-3.7%	13.6%
1984	-1.8%	20.7%
1985	-1.0%	23.0%
1986	1.1%	32.6%
1987	2.1%	53.5%
1988	2.2%	68.7%
1989	1.8%	63.3%
1990	1.1%	64.8%
1991	0.0%	53.6%
1992	1.5%	74.3%
1993	0.9%	67.9%
1994	2.0%	63.4%
1995	2.8%	70.2%
1996	4.1%	79.0%
1997	7.0%	100.6%
1998	11.0%	113.1%
1999	13.2%	129.7%
2000	15.3%	144.8%
2001	15.7%	130.4%
2002	15.6%	109.3%
2003	15.7%	113.9%
2004	15.6%	127.2%
2005	15.0%	135.3%
2006	15.7%	143.5%
2007	16.7%	156.2%
2008	16.1%	137.6%
2009	16.0%	116.2%
2010	15.2%	130.8%
2011	14.6%	134.1%
2012	14.7%	148.4%
2013	15.2%	137.7%
2014	16.7%	149.3%
2015	20.7%	156.7%
2016	21.3%	148.6%

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Note: Shaded areas denote recessions.

Source: EPI analysis of Kopczuk, Saez, and Song (2010, Table A3) and Social Security Administration wage statistics

Cumulative change in real hourly wages of all workers, by wage percentile, 1979–2017

	10th percentile	50th percentile	95th percentile
1979	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
1980	-5.8%	-0.3%	-1.2%
1981	-7.5%	-3.0%	-1.6%
1982	-10.7%	-2.5%	0.8%
1983	-13.3%	-2.7%	3.5%
1984	-15.0%	-2.7%	4.9%
1985	-15.4%	-2.1%	6.6%
1986	-14.5%	0.7%	7.8%
1987	-14.6%	-0.2%	7.9%
1988	-15.4%	-0.3%	10.6%
1989	-15.2%	-0.5%	8.1%
1990	-14.4%	-1.8%	9.7%
1991	-13.4%	-1.3%	10.7%
1992	-11.8%	-1.0%	8.5%
1993	-13.0%	-0.5%	6.6%
1994	-13.9%	-2.2%	12.4%
1995	-14.7%	-3.5%	12.9%
1996	-15.1%	-3.0%	13.1%
1997	-11.6%	-0.6%	14.9%
1998	-6.3%	2.2%	18.7%
1999	-5.9%	5.2%	21.9%
2000	-4.1%	4.3%	25.0%
2001	-1.3%	7.0%	27.2%
2002	-0.3%	7.0%	32.3%
2003	-1.4%	8.7%	30.0%
2004	-3.1%	8.7%	31.4%
2005	-4.8%	7.7%	31.9%
2006	-3.8%	8.4%	32.9%
2007	-1.9%	6.6%	35.7%
2008	-3.7%	7.2%	36.5%
2009	-3.1%	9.3%	38.9%
2010	-4.1%	7.8%	37.5%
2011	-6.3%	4.8%	36.4%
2012	-7.5%	4.2%	38.2%
2013	-6.5%	5.0%	40.2%
2014	-5.8%	4.7%	39.0%
2015	-2.2%	6.0%	47.0%
2016	0.7%	9.2%	49.6%
2017	4.4%	9.5%	51.7%

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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: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata

The gender wage gap is largest among top earners: Women’s hourly wages as a share of men’s at various wage percentiles, 1979–2017

Date	10th percentile	50th percentile	95th percentile
1979	87.8%	62.4%	63.0%
1980	84.5%	63.1%	64.5%
1981	85.4%	64.2%	63.9%
1982	85.0%	65.3%	64.2%
1983	85.2%	66.5%	62.8%
1984	84.1%	67.6%	64.2%
1985	84.0%	68.0%	63.0%
1986	83.4%	67.3%	66.2%
1987	81.7%	69.1%	66.1%
1988	82.3%	71.0%	68.2%
1989	81.4%	73.8%	71.9%
1990	83.1%	75.2%	73.3%
1991	87.5%	75.8%	73.0%
1992	90.4%	76.4%	74.5%
1993	92.4%	78.5%	75.7%
1994	91.1%	79.1%	76.9%
1995	89.0%	77.4%	76.6%
1996	87.7%	77.3%	77.2%
1997	87.5%	79.3%	75.2%
1998	90.1%	78.0%	76.8%
1999	88.9%	77.1%	77.3%
2000	87.0%	78.3%	75.2%
2001	88.8%	78.8%	76.1%
2002	89.8%	80.0%	76.5%
2003	90.0%	80.7%	77.7%
2004	90.9%	81.8%	75.7%
2005	88.1%	82.5%	77.5%
2006	88.6%	82.4%	78.0%
2007	91.4%	81.8%	77.3%
2008	89.9%	83.2%	77.1%
2009	92.9%	81.3%	74.4%
2010	93.3%	83.4%	76.9%
2011	93.6%	84.6%	78.0%
2012	91.8%	83.0%	74.5%
2013	90.8%	83.4%	76.1%
2014	91.1%	82.2%	78.4%
2015	91.9%	82.7%	73.8%
2016	90.6%	83.2%	71.4%
2017	92.9%	84.1%	72.1%

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Note: The xth-percentile wage is the wage at which x% of wage earners earn less and (100-x)% earn more.

Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata

Hourly wages of Hispanic workers as a percent of white hourly wages, at the 10th, 50th, and 95th wage percentiles, 1979–2017

Year	10th percentile	50th percentile	95th percentile
1979	96.9%	81.1%	78.7%
1980	95.3%	81.3%	78.6%
1981	95.5%	78.7%	78.7%
1982	94.3%	79.4%	75.7%
1983	93.7%	80.0%	75.6%
1984	92.7%	79.6%	78.3%
1985	90.9%	77.2%	76.0%
1986	89.2%	77.1%	79.0%
1987	89.8%	76.1%	74.0%
1988	93.2%	75.6%	75.2%
1989	91.1%	74.7%	73.9%
1990	89.3%	72.2%	72.5%
1991	87.4%	71.4%	74.6%
1992	88.0%	73.8%	77.3%
1993	87.1%	73.0%	74.6%
1994	86.7%	71.0%	73.0%
1995	85.7%	69.2%	72.1%
1996	87.2%	70.9%	70.3%
1997	85.4%	68.5%	70.7%
1998	88.1%	70.7%	70.0%
1999	88.5%	70.1%	69.6%
2000	86.5%	68.5%	68.5%
2001	86.2%	70.5%	65.7%
2002	87.8%	69.0%	66.3%
2003	88.6%	67.7%	68.0%
2004	89.7%	67.2%	67.2%
2005	88.7%	68.4%	68.0%
2006	87.3%	69.5%	67.2%
2007	89.9%	71.4%	69.0%
2008	90.9%	70.7%	68.7%
2009	90.6%	69.6%	68.8%
2010	93.2%	68.7%	69.1%
2011	93.1%	68.1%	67.1%
2012	92.3%	68.7%	65.9%
2013	89.6%	68.4%	66.3%
2014	89.8%	69.4%	66.7%
2015	92.0%	70.5%	64.4%
2016	90.7%	71.4%	67.2%
2017	93.6%	74.3%	65.3%

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Note: The xth-percentile wage is the wage at which x% of wage earners earn less and (100-x)% earn more. Shaded areas denote recessions. Race/ethnicity categories are mutually exclusive (i.e., white non-Hispanic, black non-Hispanic, and Hispanic any race).

Source: Authors' analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata

Hourly wages of black workers as a percent of white hourly wages, at the 10th, 50th, and 95th wage percentiles, 1979–2017

Year	10th percentile	50th percentile	95th percentile
1979	96.2%	82.0%	79.0%
1980	93.6%	81.5%	79.2%
1981	94.6%	82.2%	78.8%
1982	93.4%	80.0%	75.6%
1983	92.8%	81.5%	76.6%
1984	90.8%	80.1%	76.4%
1985	89.2%	78.8%	75.0%
1986	89.3%	80.4%	75.1%
1987	89.5%	80.6%	77.3%
1988	89.9%	80.2%	77.5%
1989	89.0%	79.9%	76.0%
1990	87.4%	78.4%	72.5%
1991	88.6%	79.1%	76.4%
1992	90.1%	79.7%	77.5%
1993	92.4%	79.4%	78.0%
1994	94.0%	78.7%	76.6%
1995	92.9%	78.4%	76.4%
1996	90.1%	78.2%	73.2%
1997	87.8%	76.8%	73.6%
1998	92.4%	80.4%	73.5%
1999	92.6%	78.8%	72.7%
2000	90.0%	79.2%	71.7%
2001	90.2%	77.7%	72.3%
2002	92.9%	77.6%	72.0%
2003	93.1%	79.8%	73.3%
2004	92.5%	79.8%	72.7%
2005	91.5%	77.0%	72.6%
2006	89.3%	78.1%	74.2%
2007	92.6%	75.9%	72.0%
2008	91.8%	76.3%	72.8%
2009	94.4%	78.2%	70.7%
2010	94.0%	78.0%	70.0%
2011	93.6%	77.1%	72.8%
2012	92.3%	75.6%	70.3%
2013	90.2%	76.5%	69.8%
2014	89.7%	74.6%	71.5%
2015	88.3%	74.2%	68.9%
2016	87.0%	75.4%	69.2%
2017	89.2%	74.6%	66.0%

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Note: The xth-percentile wage is the wage at which x% of wage earners earn less and (100-x)% earn more. Shaded areas denote recessions. Race/ethnicity categories are mutually exclusive (i.e., white non-Hispanic, black non-Hispanic, and Hispanic any race).

Source: Authors' analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata

Women earn less than men at every education level: Average hourly wages, by gender and education, 2017

Education level	Men’s hourly wages	Women’s hourly wages
Less than high school	$15.32	$11.55
High school	$19.70	$15.30
Some college	$21.65	$17.38
College	$37.39	$27.83
Advanced degree	$47.33	$36.13

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Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata

The gender wage gap is real: Median hourly wages, by gender, 1979–2017

Year	Men Median	Women Median
1979	$21.00	$13.10
1980	$20.68	$13.04
1981	$20.18	$12.95
1982	$19.95	$13.03
1983	$19.85	$13.20
1984	$19.79	$13.37
1985	$19.75	$13.43
1986	$20.36	$13.71
1987	$20.42	$14.11
1988	$19.88	$14.11
1989	$19.21	$14.18
1990	$18.74	$14.09
1991	$18.67	$14.15
1992	$18.72	$14.30
1993	$18.48	$14.50
1994	$18.27	$14.45
1995	$18.52	$14.33
1996	$18.55	$14.34
1997	$18.46	$14.63
1998	$19.29	$15.04
1999	$19.76	$15.24
2000	$19.86	$15.55
2001	$20.11	$15.84
2002	$20.32	$16.26
2003	$20.01	$16.14
2004	$19.83	$16.22
2005	$19.59	$16.16
2006	$19.56	$16.11
2007	$19.86	$16.24
2008	$19.72	$16.40
2009	$20.42	$16.60
2010	$19.73	$16.46
2011	$19.24	$16.28
2012	$19.23	$15.97
2013	$19.01	$15.85
2014	$19.04	$15.65
2015	$19.59	$16.21
2016	$19.74	$16.42
2017	$19.97	$16.79

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Notes: Wages are in 2017 dollars.

Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata. For more information on the data sample see EPI's State of Working America Data Library.

Wages have stagnated for most young graduates since 2000: Real average hourly wages of young workers, by education and gender, 1989–2017*

Date	All	Men	Women	All	Men	Women
1989-12-01	$10.16	$10.93	$9.30	$17.09	$17.78	$16.59
1990-01-01	$10.16	$10.89	$9.37	$17.18	$17.97	$16.63
1990-02-01	$10.18	$10.91	$9.35	$17.17	$17.97	$16.59
1990-03-01	$10.14	$10.90	$9.28	$17.24	$18.03	$16.68
1990-04-01	$10.24	$10.99	$9.41	$17.40	$18.48	$16.63
1990-05-01	$10.22	$10.98	$9.38	$17.63	$18.48	$17.02
1990-06-01	$10.23	$10.99	$9.39	$17.65	$18.51	$17.00
1990-07-01	$10.24	$11.03	$9.38	$17.60	$18.59	$16.83
1990-08-01	$10.26	$11.04	$9.41	$17.62	$18.61	$16.83
1990-09-01	$10.24	$10.95	$9.44	$17.68	$18.68	$16.89
1990-10-01	$10.22	$10.89	$9.46	$17.61	$18.70	$16.80
1990-11-01	$10.17	$10.83	$9.43	$17.70	$18.71	$16.92
1990-12-01	$10.17	$10.82	$9.46	$17.67	$18.67	$16.91
1991-01-01	$10.16	$10.85	$9.40	$17.70	$18.59	$17.00
1991-02-01	$10.16	$10.85	$9.40	$17.67	$18.56	$16.98
1991-03-01	$10.18	$10.87	$9.41	$17.53	$18.56	$16.72
1991-04-01	$10.13	$10.79	$9.39	$17.38	$18.11	$16.79
1991-05-01	$10.12	$10.76	$9.40	$17.29	$18.36	$16.45
1991-06-01	$10.13	$10.76	$9.43	$17.20	$18.17	$16.44
1991-07-01	$10.11	$10.73	$9.43	$17.33	$18.33	$16.58
1991-08-01	$10.08	$10.69	$9.40	$17.23	$18.29	$16.44
1991-09-01	$10.06	$10.67	$9.39	$17.09	$18.23	$16.21
1991-10-01	$10.03	$10.63	$9.37	$17.04	$18.02	$16.28
1991-11-01	$9.99	$10.57	$9.35	$16.93	$17.84	$16.21
1991-12-01	$9.94	$10.54	$9.29	$16.88	$17.77	$16.17
1992-01-01	$9.91	$10.48	$9.28	$16.83	$17.71	$16.14
1992-02-01	$9.92	$10.47	$9.31	$16.80	$17.69	$16.11
1992-03-01	$9.88	$10.42	$9.28	$16.79	$17.57	$16.16
1992-04-01	$9.87	$10.45	$9.24	$16.81	$17.67	$16.12
1992-05-01	$9.84	$10.44	$9.19	$16.62	$17.30	$16.07
1992-06-01	$9.79	$10.39	$9.15	$16.67	$17.34	$16.12
1992-07-01	$9.78	$10.35	$9.17	$16.59	$17.14	$16.12
1992-08-01	$9.79	$10.33	$9.20	$16.53	$17.06	$16.06
1992-09-01	$9.76	$10.31	$9.15	$16.54	$16.92	$16.21
1992-10-01	$9.76	$10.29	$9.19	$16.59	$17.07	$16.18
1992-11-01	$9.78	$10.29	$9.21	$16.52	$17.05	$16.07
1992-12-01	$9.76	$10.25	$9.20	$16.34	$16.88	$15.88
1993-01-01	$9.72	$10.22	$9.18	$16.40	$17.06	$15.84
1993-02-01	$9.66	$10.13	$9.15	$16.38	$17.16	$15.71
1993-03-01	$9.62	$10.06	$9.15	$16.45	$17.32	$15.73
1993-04-01	$9.56	$10.02	$9.07	$16.31	$17.10	$15.69
1993-05-01	$9.61	$10.05	$9.12	$16.39	$17.13	$15.79
1993-06-01	$9.60	$10.03	$9.12	$16.46	$17.15	$15.90
1993-07-01	$9.57	$10.01	$9.09	$16.29	$16.84	$15.85
1993-08-01	$9.53	$9.99	$9.02	$16.30	$16.88	$15.82
1993-09-01	$9.52	$9.96	$9.03	$16.22	$16.98	$15.62
1993-10-01	$9.50	$10.01	$8.93	$16.32	$17.04	$15.78
1993-11-01	$9.49	$10.05	$8.86	$16.30	$17.04	$15.74
1993-12-01	$9.48	$10.06	$8.82	$16.39	$17.18	$15.80
1994-01-01	$9.48	$10.04	$8.85	$16.45	$17.15	$15.94
1994-02-01	$9.47	$10.06	$8.81	$16.57	$17.35	$16.04
1994-03-01	$9.62	$10.32	$8.85	$16.55	$17.25	$16.06
1994-04-01	$9.68	$10.32	$8.97	$16.51	$17.25	$16.00
1994-05-01	$9.67	$10.35	$8.93	$16.47	$17.36	$15.84
1994-06-01	$9.68	$10.39	$8.93	$16.38	$17.38	$15.65
1994-07-01	$9.68	$10.39	$8.92	$16.38	$17.59	$15.50
1994-08-01	$9.68	$10.37	$8.94	$16.34	$17.36	$15.60
1994-09-01	$9.74	$10.45	$8.97	$16.36	$17.30	$15.68
1994-10-01	$9.79	$10.54	$8.98	$16.35	$17.43	$15.51
1994-11-01	$9.83	$10.58	$9.00	$16.43	$17.65	$15.50
1994-12-01	$9.93	$10.76	$9.03	$16.41	$17.51	$15.57
1995-01-01	$10.02	$10.89	$9.08	$16.30	$17.42	$15.42
1995-02-01	$10.03	$10.93	$9.06	$16.24	$17.18	$15.47
1995-03-01	$9.94	$10.70	$9.09	$16.13	$17.09	$15.37
1995-04-01	$9.90	$10.70	$9.00	$16.19	$17.18	$15.40
1995-05-01	$9.87	$10.65	$9.00	$16.15	$17.06	$15.44
1995-06-01	$9.88	$10.63	$9.02	$16.15	$17.02	$15.48
1995-07-01	$9.89	$10.68	$8.99	$16.22	$16.95	$15.66
1995-08-01	$9.96	$10.80	$9.00	$16.19	$17.04	$15.53
1995-09-01	$9.92	$10.77	$8.96	$16.13	$17.01	$15.45
1995-10-01	$9.91	$10.73	$9.00	$15.95	$16.73	$15.38
1995-11-01	$9.94	$10.78	$8.98	$15.99	$16.68	$15.48
1995-12-01	$9.86	$10.68	$8.97	$15.99	$16.76	$15.44
1996-01-01	$9.82	$10.56	$8.98	$15.95	$16.81	$15.36
1996-02-01	$9.87	$10.61	$9.02	$15.87	$16.65	$15.34
1996-03-01	$9.91	$10.69	$9.01	$16.04	$16.67	$15.61
1996-04-01	$9.90	$10.69	$8.99	$16.01	$16.59	$15.61
1996-05-01	$9.87	$10.65	$8.95	$15.96	$16.48	$15.60
1996-06-01	$9.88	$10.70	$8.91	$15.87	$16.35	$15.53
1996-07-01	$9.86	$10.65	$8.92	$15.82	$16.33	$15.47
1996-08-01	$9.83	$10.60	$8.92	$16.14	$16.49	$15.89
1996-09-01	$9.90	$10.58	$9.10	$16.16	$16.55	$15.89
1996-10-01	$9.87	$10.55	$9.05	$16.16	$16.58	$15.89
1996-11-01	$9.87	$10.50	$9.13	$16.05	$16.49	$15.77
1996-12-01	$9.91	$10.54	$9.16	$16.06	$16.47	$15.79
1997-01-01	$9.93	$10.54	$9.20	$16.09	$16.42	$15.82
1997-02-01	$9.91	$10.47	$9.26	$15.98	$16.45	$15.64
1997-03-01	$9.87	$10.45	$9.21	$16.15	$16.84	$15.63
1997-04-01	$9.92	$10.53	$9.25	$16.23	$16.98	$15.67
1997-05-01	$9.99	$10.60	$9.31	$16.31	$17.08	$15.74
1997-06-01	$10.15	$10.80	$9.40	$16.45	$17.20	$15.89
1997-07-01	$10.16	$10.81	$9.42	$16.53	$17.41	$15.90
1997-08-01	$10.16	$10.79	$9.44	$16.37	$17.37	$15.65
1997-09-01	$10.12	$10.82	$9.30	$16.52	$17.51	$15.80
1997-10-01	$10.17	$10.87	$9.37	$16.58	$17.53	$15.88
1997-11-01	$10.16	$10.86	$9.37	$16.64	$17.64	$15.87
1997-12-01	$10.15	$10.77	$9.42	$16.69	$17.85	$15.85
1998-01-01	$10.18	$10.85	$9.39	$16.77	$17.99	$15.89
1998-02-01	$10.19	$10.87	$9.39	$17.02	$18.34	$16.03
1998-03-01	$10.21	$10.87	$9.42	$16.96	$18.48	$15.88
1998-04-01	$10.23	$10.86	$9.47	$17.15	$18.89	$15.97
1998-05-01	$10.27	$10.86	$9.55	$17.40	$19.09	$16.25
1998-06-01	$10.21	$10.71	$9.61	$17.42	$19.12	$16.28
1998-07-01	$10.30	$10.79	$9.72	$17.42	$19.01	$16.34
1998-08-01	$10.39	$10.93	$9.77	$17.84	$19.99	$16.31
1998-09-01	$10.40	$10.92	$9.81	$18.06	$20.33	$16.36
1998-10-01	$10.45	$10.96	$9.87	$18.21	$20.43	$16.57
1998-11-01	$10.52	$11.04	$9.92	$18.43	$20.68	$16.74
1998-12-01	$10.62	$11.16	$10.00	$18.54	$20.79	$16.87
1999-01-01	$10.67	$11.21	$10.05	$18.74	$20.76	$17.28
1999-02-01	$10.69	$11.23	$10.05	$18.73	$20.71	$17.29
1999-03-01	$10.76	$11.29	$10.12	$18.72	$20.37	$17.49
1999-04-01	$10.79	$11.33	$10.16	$18.49	$19.75	$17.48
1999-05-01	$10.81	$11.38	$10.12	$18.43	$19.95	$17.26
1999-06-01	$10.77	$11.37	$10.05	$18.56	$20.23	$17.32
1999-07-01	$10.84	$11.42	$10.12	$18.83	$20.40	$17.69
1999-08-01	$10.85	$11.41	$10.14	$18.55	$19.46	$17.91
1999-09-01	$10.90	$11.48	$10.17	$18.33	$19.12	$17.89
1999-10-01	$10.93	$11.57	$10.10	$18.44	$19.29	$17.94
1999-11-01	$11.05	$11.75	$10.14	$18.38	$19.21	$17.94
1999-12-01	$11.01	$11.76	$10.05	$18.63	$19.42	$18.19
2000-01-01	$11.00	$11.77	$10.03	$18.62	$19.69	$17.92
2000-02-01	$11.07	$11.86	$10.08	$18.63	$19.62	$18.01
2000-03-01	$11.17	$11.95	$10.19	$18.67	$19.71	$18.00
2000-04-01	$11.21	$12.07	$10.15	$18.79	$20.13	$17.96
2000-05-01	$11.29	$12.15	$10.24	$18.71	$19.94	$17.92
2000-06-01	$11.37	$12.26	$10.30	$18.86	$19.90	$18.17
2000-07-01	$11.37	$12.30	$10.25	$18.74	$19.91	$17.93
2000-08-01	$11.34	$12.26	$10.24	$18.80	$19.96	$18.00
2000-09-01	$11.37	$12.30	$10.25	$18.93	$19.97	$18.19
2000-10-01	$11.38	$12.26	$10.35	$18.96	$19.99	$18.23
2000-11-01	$11.39	$12.20	$10.42	$18.95	$19.84	$18.31
2000-12-01	$11.38	$12.18	$10.44	$18.92	$19.80	$18.29
2001-01-01	$11.43	$12.25	$10.46	$18.78	$19.62	$18.20
2001-02-01	$11.38	$12.24	$10.35	$18.84	$19.63	$18.28
2001-03-01	$11.28	$12.13	$10.27	$19.06	$20.08	$18.39
2001-04-01	$11.29	$12.09	$10.35	$19.11	$20.24	$18.35
2001-05-01	$11.24	$12.07	$10.28	$19.37	$20.59	$18.53
2001-06-01	$11.24	$11.96	$10.40	$19.20	$20.50	$18.32
2001-07-01	$11.23	$11.93	$10.40	$19.26	$20.43	$18.48
2001-08-01	$11.27	$11.99	$10.44	$19.24	$20.57	$18.29
2001-09-01	$11.31	$11.96	$10.56	$19.40	$21.01	$18.26
2001-10-01	$11.28	$11.99	$10.49	$19.34	$20.91	$18.23
2001-11-01	$11.24	$11.98	$10.42	$19.32	$20.86	$18.23
2001-12-01	$11.27	$11.97	$10.47	$19.11	$20.66	$18.00
2002-01-01	$11.25	$11.90	$10.50	$19.27	$20.84	$18.18
2002-02-01	$11.29	$11.89	$10.63	$19.44	$21.11	$18.30
2002-03-01	$11.37	$12.01	$10.64	$19.11	$20.59	$18.05
2002-04-01	$11.36	$12.04	$10.61	$19.05	$20.21	$18.20
2002-05-01	$11.38	$12.01	$10.67	$18.87	$19.91	$18.13
2002-06-01	$11.33	$12.02	$10.54	$18.90	$20.01	$18.11
2002-07-01	$11.31	$11.96	$10.56	$18.75	$19.99	$17.87
2002-08-01	$11.31	$11.99	$10.50	$18.71	$19.92	$17.89
2002-09-01	$11.22	$11.99	$10.32	$18.70	$20.01	$17.84
2002-10-01	$11.21	$11.96	$10.30	$18.73	$20.08	$17.85
2002-11-01	$11.16	$11.90	$10.28	$18.89	$20.31	$17.94
2002-12-01	$11.14	$11.90	$10.23	$18.92	$20.42	$17.93
2003-01-01	$11.16	$11.94	$10.23	$18.93	$20.39	$17.99
2003-02-01	$11.09	$11.89	$10.11	$18.70	$20.03	$17.82
2003-03-01	$11.00	$11.79	$10.06	$18.70	$19.88	$17.94
2003-04-01	$10.98	$11.73	$10.07	$18.71	$19.91	$17.93
2003-05-01	$10.96	$11.68	$10.07	$18.72	$19.99	$17.90
2003-06-01	$10.96	$11.71	$10.02	$18.70	$19.87	$17.94
2003-07-01	$10.98	$11.74	$10.02	$18.61	$19.69	$17.92
2003-08-01	$10.99	$11.73	$10.08	$18.57	$19.70	$17.83
2003-09-01	$11.13	$11.91	$10.17	$18.40	$19.43	$17.72
2003-10-01	$11.14	$11.89	$10.20	$18.45	$19.64	$17.65
2003-11-01	$11.21	$11.88	$10.38	$18.26	$19.45	$17.49
2003-12-01	$11.23	$11.86	$10.44	$18.24	$19.11	$17.67
2004-01-01	$11.20	$11.82	$10.42	$18.04	$18.69	$17.63
2004-02-01	$11.27	$11.86	$10.55	$18.11	$18.93	$17.59
2004-03-01	$11.32	$11.90	$10.59	$18.20	$19.10	$17.61
2004-04-01	$11.32	$11.84	$10.64	$18.43	$19.20	$17.92
2004-05-01	$11.44	$12.10	$10.58	$18.52	$19.22	$18.04
2004-06-01	$11.46	$12.12	$10.61	$18.37	$19.21	$17.81
2004-07-01	$11.41	$12.10	$10.50	$18.59	$19.34	$18.07
2004-08-01	$11.36	$12.06	$10.48	$18.56	$19.25	$18.10
2004-09-01	$11.24	$11.85	$10.45	$18.61	$19.43	$18.02
2004-10-01	$11.18	$11.74	$10.43	$18.57	$19.13	$18.16
2004-11-01	$11.10	$11.70	$10.31	$18.52	$19.26	$17.98
2004-12-01	$11.21	$12.02	$10.24	$18.51	$19.38	$17.85
2005-01-01	$11.17	$11.97	$10.20	$18.64	$19.73	$17.82
2005-02-01	$11.14	$11.96	$10.14	$18.50	$19.38	$17.82
2005-03-01	$11.05	$11.89	$10.05	$18.39	$19.36	$17.65
2005-04-01	$10.99	$11.86	$9.94	$18.21	$19.46	$17.27
2005-05-01	$10.88	$11.65	$9.97	$18.25	$19.83	$17.05
2005-06-01	$10.89	$11.71	$9.95	$18.40	$20.04	$17.16
2005-07-01	$10.96	$11.78	$10.01	$18.31	$20.15	$16.94
2005-08-01	$10.96	$11.81	$9.96	$18.44	$20.38	$16.99
2005-09-01	$10.98	$11.83	$9.96	$18.30	$19.98	$17.09
2005-10-01	$11.09	$12.08	$9.93	$18.22	$19.91	$16.99
2005-11-01	$11.07	$12.09	$9.87	$18.28	$19.75	$17.23
2005-12-01	$10.91	$11.76	$9.87	$18.19	$19.63	$17.17
2006-01-01	$10.99	$11.83	$9.96	$18.06	$19.52	$17.01
2006-02-01	$10.96	$11.82	$9.88	$18.35	$19.79	$17.30
2006-03-01	$11.02	$11.90	$9.89	$18.42	$19.90	$17.38
2006-04-01	$11.07	$11.95	$9.93	$18.38	$19.64	$17.49
2006-05-01	$11.04	$11.94	$9.89	$18.19	$19.07	$17.61
2006-06-01	$11.01	$11.95	$9.85	$18.09	$18.94	$17.50
2006-07-01	$10.98	$11.86	$9.87	$18.28	$19.03	$17.76
2006-08-01	$10.94	$11.83	$9.81	$18.05	$18.63	$17.66
2006-09-01	$10.98	$11.87	$9.85	$18.12	$18.72	$17.70
2006-10-01	$10.88	$11.69	$9.83	$18.23	$18.95	$17.72
2006-11-01	$10.90	$11.73	$9.82	$18.26	$19.12	$17.66
2006-12-01	$10.94	$11.76	$9.85	$18.34	$19.31	$17.64
2007-01-01	$10.92	$11.77	$9.79	$18.41	$19.47	$17.65
2007-02-01	$10.99	$11.83	$9.89	$18.55	$19.86	$17.61
2007-03-01	$11.08	$11.85	$10.08	$18.56	$19.88	$17.57
2007-04-01	$11.17	$11.90	$10.23	$18.63	$20.21	$17.48
2007-05-01	$11.21	$11.93	$10.27	$18.65	$20.28	$17.46
2007-06-01	$11.18	$11.86	$10.25	$18.69	$20.46	$17.43
2007-07-01	$11.16	$11.87	$10.20	$18.51	$20.57	$17.05
2007-08-01	$11.20	$11.90	$10.24	$18.73	$20.84	$17.23
2007-09-01	$11.17	$11.90	$10.17	$18.90	$20.92	$17.46
2007-10-01	$11.24	$12.01	$10.19	$18.85	$21.02	$17.34
2007-11-01	$11.20	$11.95	$10.19	$18.86	$20.89	$17.43
2007-12-01	$11.29	$12.15	$10.19	$18.81	$20.62	$17.56
2008-01-01	$11.28	$12.16	$10.15	$18.71	$20.19	$17.70
2008-02-01	$11.21	$12.07	$10.12	$18.41	$19.61	$17.60
2008-03-01	$11.09	$11.95	$9.98	$18.53	$19.70	$17.76
2008-04-01	$11.04	$11.89	$9.93	$18.52	$19.60	$17.75
2008-05-01	$11.01	$11.90	$9.86	$18.53	$19.52	$17.83
2008-06-01	$10.98	$11.85	$9.91	$18.60	$19.31	$18.08
2008-07-01	$10.93	$11.77	$9.88	$18.51	$19.06	$18.09
2008-08-01	$10.91	$11.74	$9.87	$18.50	$19.28	$17.97
2008-09-01	$10.85	$11.66	$9.83	$18.32	$19.20	$17.71
2008-10-01	$10.82	$11.58	$9.86	$18.30	$18.90	$17.87
2008-11-01	$11.00	$11.83	$9.94	$18.26	$18.92	$17.79
2008-12-01	$10.91	$11.61	$9.92	$18.42	$19.12	$17.91
2009-01-01	$10.89	$11.54	$9.98	$18.54	$19.41	$17.89
2009-02-01	$10.88	$11.54	$9.96	$18.49	$19.52	$17.75
2009-03-01	$10.89	$11.59	$9.93	$18.41	$19.40	$17.72
2009-04-01	$10.84	$11.60	$9.81	$18.40	$19.46	$17.73
2009-05-01	$10.86	$11.66	$9.81	$18.43	$19.70	$17.58
2009-06-01	$10.85	$11.63	$9.81	$18.54	$19.96	$17.56
2009-07-01	$10.90	$11.69	$9.85	$18.90	$20.63	$17.78
2009-08-01	$10.95	$11.64	$10.02	$18.85	$20.47	$17.76
2009-09-01	$10.94	$11.64	$10.01	$18.89	$20.30	$17.96
2009-10-01	$10.82	$11.47	$9.96	$18.70	$20.13	$17.76
2009-11-01	$10.61	$11.19	$9.85	$19.04	$21.19	$17.63
2009-12-01	$10.61	$11.25	$9.79	$18.85	$21.14	$17.36
2010-01-01	$10.59	$11.27	$9.71	$18.82	$21.19	$17.29
2010-02-01	$10.60	$11.23	$9.78	$18.76	$21.19	$17.18
2010-03-01	$10.54	$11.20	$9.71	$18.85	$21.49	$17.08
2010-04-01	$10.50	$11.15	$9.64	$18.99	$21.72	$17.07
2010-05-01	$10.46	$11.04	$9.66	$18.72	$21.41	$16.86
2010-06-01	$10.52	$11.12	$9.68	$18.47	$20.94	$16.80
2010-07-01	$10.52	$11.14	$9.67	$18.09	$20.00	$16.73
2010-08-01	$10.41	$11.08	$9.51	$18.13	$19.96	$16.84
2010-09-01	$10.48	$11.10	$9.64	$18.04	$20.21	$16.47
2010-10-01	$10.55	$11.16	$9.72	$18.24	$20.47	$16.62
2010-11-01	$10.56	$11.19	$9.73	$17.84	$19.38	$16.68
2010-12-01	$10.56	$11.14	$9.79	$17.83	$19.33	$16.69
2011-01-01	$10.65	$11.23	$9.86	$17.69	$19.06	$16.65
2011-02-01	$10.60	$11.25	$9.76	$17.77	$19.16	$16.70
2011-03-01	$10.62	$11.21	$9.82	$17.91	$19.46	$16.67
2011-04-01	$10.50	$11.05	$9.78	$17.64	$18.97	$16.62
2011-05-01	$10.48	$11.02	$9.76	$17.80	$19.06	$16.82
2011-06-01	$10.42	$10.93	$9.74	$17.77	$19.12	$16.73
2011-07-01	$10.35	$10.86	$9.67	$17.94	$19.38	$16.87
2011-08-01	$10.36	$10.85	$9.70	$17.94	$19.46	$16.79
2011-09-01	$10.27	$10.75	$9.62	$17.94	$19.25	$16.94
2011-10-01	$10.24	$10.76	$9.54	$17.80	$19.17	$16.76
2011-11-01	$10.18	$10.70	$9.44	$17.81	$19.30	$16.66
2011-12-01	$10.13	$10.70	$9.35	$17.93	$19.47	$16.76
2012-01-01	$9.98	$10.49	$9.28	$17.82	$19.38	$16.59
2012-02-01	$9.95	$10.48	$9.21	$17.59	$19.00	$16.47
2012-03-01	$9.98	$10.51	$9.23	$17.09	$18.09	$16.35
2012-04-01	$10.10	$10.66	$9.30	$17.07	$18.22	$16.22
2012-05-01	$10.04	$10.58	$9.30	$17.08	$18.26	$16.21
2012-06-01	$10.03	$10.58	$9.29	$17.14	$18.33	$16.24
2012-07-01	$10.02	$10.54	$9.31	$17.14	$18.66	$16.00
2012-08-01	$10.08	$10.65	$9.29	$17.02	$18.52	$15.93
2012-09-01	$10.04	$10.64	$9.20	$17.08	$18.55	$15.98
2012-10-01	$10.03	$10.64	$9.17	$17.07	$18.60	$15.97
2012-11-01	$9.99	$10.61	$9.15	$17.19	$18.65	$16.14
2012-12-01	$9.94	$10.55	$9.13	$17.31	$18.69	$16.30
2013-01-01	$9.95	$10.61	$9.09	$17.44	$18.80	$16.47
2013-02-01	$9.97	$10.60	$9.17	$17.55	$18.93	$16.57
2013-03-01	$9.93	$10.51	$9.18	$17.70	$19.19	$16.64
2013-04-01	$9.99	$10.49	$9.33	$17.65	$19.11	$16.54
2013-05-01	$10.01	$10.50	$9.36	$17.69	$19.25	$16.46
2013-06-01	$9.96	$10.47	$9.29	$17.63	$19.17	$16.44
2013-07-01	$9.97	$10.51	$9.30	$17.48	$18.78	$16.44
2013-08-01	$9.92	$10.45	$9.26	$17.64	$19.13	$16.42
2013-09-01	$9.95	$10.47	$9.32	$17.62	$19.34	$16.28
2013-10-01	$9.96	$10.48	$9.32	$17.74	$19.56	$16.28
2013-11-01	$10.11	$10.70	$9.36	$17.72	$19.53	$16.25
2013-12-01	$10.17	$10.70	$9.43	$17.51	$19.48	$15.96
2014-01-01	$10.14	$10.66	$9.42	$17.51	$19.72	$15.78
2014-02-01	$10.13	$10.69	$9.37	$17.47	$19.70	$15.74
2014-03-01	$10.14	$10.73	$9.33	$17.46	$19.73	$15.68
2014-04-01	$10.12	$10.86	$9.14	$17.64	$19.87	$15.93
2014-05-01	$10.12	$10.90	$9.07	$17.60	$19.75	$15.95
2014-06-01	$10.21	$10.93	$9.22	$17.69	$20.08	$15.88
2014-07-01	$10.20	$10.91	$9.22	$17.86	$20.51	$15.85
2014-08-01	$10.23	$10.94	$9.23	$17.83	$20.44	$15.83
2014-09-01	$10.28	$11.00	$9.27	$17.83	$20.25	$15.91
2014-10-01	$10.30	$11.04	$9.29	$17.80	$20.01	$16.04
2014-11-01	$10.27	$10.93	$9.37	$17.88	$20.25	$16.01
2014-12-01	$10.31	$11.02	$9.32	$18.06	$20.35	$16.23
2015-01-01	$10.35	$11.01	$9.44	$18.01	$20.01	$16.39
2015-02-01	$10.46	$11.11	$9.51	$18.19	$20.00	$16.71
2015-03-01	$10.54	$11.22	$9.55	$18.19	$19.91	$16.79
2015-04-01	$10.54	$11.15	$9.60	$18.24	$20.03	$16.77
2015-05-01	$10.55	$11.14	$9.64	$18.33	$20.13	$16.89
2015-06-01	$10.57	$11.15	$9.67	$18.40	$20.07	$17.02
2015-07-01	$10.64	$11.23	$9.72	$18.70	$20.34	$17.30
2015-08-01	$10.64	$11.24	$9.73	$18.59	$20.09	$17.36
2015-09-01	$10.68	$11.24	$9.83	$18.64	$20.27	$17.29
2015-10-01	$10.79	$11.27	$10.07	$18.73	$20.69	$17.09
2015-11-01	$10.82	$11.24	$10.15	$18.63	$20.53	$17.03
2015-12-01	$10.85	$11.22	$10.28	$18.68	$20.77	$16.95
2016-01-01	$10.87	$11.28	$10.25	$18.79	$21.08	$16.94
2016-02-01	$10.80	$11.18	$10.25	$18.76	$21.21	$16.78
2016-03-01	$10.76	$11.15	$10.23	$19.00	$21.40	$17.05
2016-04-01	$10.75	$11.12	$10.27	$19.20	$21.50	$17.35
2016-05-01	$10.85	$11.23	$10.36	$19.18	$21.52	$17.27
2016-06-01	$10.83	$11.24	$10.30	$18.99	$21.24	$17.16
2016-07-01	$10.87	$11.27	$10.34	$18.49	$20.61	$16.85
2016-08-01	$10.90	$11.28	$10.39	$18.54	$20.64	$16.92
2016-09-01	$10.85	$11.24	$10.32	$18.67	$20.84	$16.97
2016-10-01	$10.77	$11.23	$10.17	$18.66	$20.68	$17.15
2016-11-01	$10.86	$11.38	$10.18	$18.79	$20.60	$17.44
2016-12-01	$10.85	$11.33	$10.23	$18.80	$20.44	$17.57
2017-01-01	$10.86	$11.35	$10.24	$19.04	$20.50	$17.93
2017-02-01	$10.89	$11.39	$10.24	$19.18	$20.87	$17.88

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* Data reflect 12-month moving averages; data for 2017 represent 12-month average from March 2016 to February 2017.

Note: Data are for college graduates age 21–24 who do not have an advanced degree and are not enrolled in further schooling, and high school graduates age 17–20 who are not enrolled in further schooling. Wages are in 2016 dollars. Shaded areas denote recessions.

Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata

Among those with a high school degree, wages have stagnated since 2000 for young workers and workers overall: Real average hourly wages of workers with a high school degree, by age, 1989–2017*

Date	All	Men	Women	All	Men	Women
1989-12-01	$10.16	$10.93	$9.30	$16.39	$19.07	$13.80
1990-01-01	$10.16	$10.89	$9.37	$16.38	$19.08	$13.77
1990-02-01	$10.18	$10.91	$9.35	$16.36	$19.01	$13.76
1990-03-01	$10.14	$10.90	$9.28	$16.37	$19.01	$13.76
1990-04-01	$10.24	$10.99	$9.41	$16.39	$19.00	$13.76
1990-05-01	$10.22	$10.98	$9.38	$16.39	$18.98	$13.77
1990-06-01	$10.23	$10.99	$9.39	$16.39	$18.96	$13.77
1990-07-01	$10.24	$11.03	$9.38	$16.41	$18.95	$13.81
1990-08-01	$10.26	$11.04	$9.41	$16.42	$18.93	$13.82
1990-09-01	$10.24	$10.95	$9.44	$16.37	$18.89	$13.77
1990-10-01	$10.22	$10.89	$9.46	$16.33	$18.79	$13.76
1990-11-01	$10.17	$10.83	$9.43	$16.29	$18.74	$13.75
1990-12-01	$10.17	$10.82	$9.46	$16.25	$18.68	$13.72
1991-01-01	$10.16	$10.85	$9.40	$16.26	$18.68	$13.73
1991-02-01	$10.16	$10.85	$9.40	$16.26	$18.64	$13.77
1991-03-01	$10.18	$10.87	$9.41	$16.27	$18.63	$13.80
1991-04-01	$10.13	$10.79	$9.39	$16.24	$18.57	$13.80
1991-05-01	$10.12	$10.76	$9.40	$16.25	$18.56	$13.83
1991-06-01	$10.13	$10.76	$9.43	$16.24	$18.50	$13.86
1991-07-01	$10.11	$10.73	$9.43	$16.23	$18.49	$13.85
1991-08-01	$10.08	$10.69	$9.40	$16.22	$18.50	$13.84
1991-09-01	$10.06	$10.67	$9.39	$16.25	$18.52	$13.87
1991-10-01	$10.03	$10.63	$9.37	$16.27	$18.54	$13.90
1991-11-01	$9.99	$10.57	$9.35	$16.27	$18.52	$13.94
1991-12-01	$9.94	$10.54	$9.29	$16.29	$18.52	$13.98
1992-01-01	$9.91	$10.48	$9.28	$16.29	$18.49	$14.01
1992-02-01	$9.92	$10.47	$9.31	$16.30	$18.53	$13.99
1992-03-01	$9.88	$10.42	$9.28	$16.27	$18.50	$13.98
1992-04-01	$9.87	$10.45	$9.24	$16.30	$18.52	$14.01
1992-05-01	$9.84	$10.44	$9.19	$16.27	$18.50	$13.99
1992-06-01	$9.79	$10.39	$9.15	$16.27	$18.52	$13.95
1992-07-01	$9.78	$10.35	$9.17	$16.27	$18.51	$13.94
1992-08-01	$9.79	$10.33	$9.20	$16.30	$18.52	$13.99
1992-09-01	$9.76	$10.31	$9.15	$16.29	$18.49	$13.99
1992-10-01	$9.76	$10.29	$9.19	$16.27	$18.45	$13.98
1992-11-01	$9.78	$10.29	$9.21	$16.24	$18.42	$13.95
1992-12-01	$9.76	$10.25	$9.20	$16.24	$18.42	$13.96
1993-01-01	$9.72	$10.22	$9.18	$16.20	$18.39	$13.91
1993-02-01	$9.66	$10.13	$9.15	$16.20	$18.37	$13.92
1993-03-01	$9.62	$10.06	$9.15	$16.19	$18.35	$13.91
1993-04-01	$9.56	$10.02	$9.07	$16.17	$18.34	$13.88
1993-05-01	$9.61	$10.05	$9.12	$16.17	$18.32	$13.90
1993-06-01	$9.60	$10.03	$9.12	$16.18	$18.32	$13.93
1993-07-01	$9.57	$10.01	$9.09	$16.21	$18.34	$13.95
1993-08-01	$9.53	$9.99	$9.02	$16.21	$18.33	$13.96
1993-09-01	$9.52	$9.96	$9.03	$16.20	$18.31	$13.98
1993-10-01	$9.50	$10.01	$8.93	$16.21	$18.31	$13.99
1993-11-01	$9.49	$10.05	$8.86	$16.25	$18.36	$14.01
1993-12-01	$9.48	$10.06	$8.82	$16.23	$18.32	$14.01
1994-01-01	$9.48	$10.04	$8.85	$16.31	$18.39	$14.10
1994-02-01	$9.47	$10.06	$8.81	$16.38	$18.46	$14.16
1994-03-01	$9.62	$10.32	$8.85	$16.38	$18.48	$14.15
1994-04-01	$9.68	$10.32	$8.97	$16.36	$18.43	$14.17
1994-05-01	$9.67	$10.35	$8.93	$16.39	$18.44	$14.22
1994-06-01	$9.68	$10.39	$8.93	$16.42	$18.46	$14.24
1994-07-01	$9.68	$10.39	$8.92	$16.41	$18.43	$14.26
1994-08-01	$9.68	$10.37	$8.94	$16.40	$18.45	$14.21
1994-09-01	$9.74	$10.45	$8.97	$16.44	$18.46	$14.27
1994-10-01	$9.79	$10.54	$8.98	$16.47	$18.49	$14.31
1994-11-01	$9.83	$10.58	$9.00	$16.47	$18.48	$14.31
1994-12-01	$9.93	$10.76	$9.03	$16.51	$18.53	$14.33
1995-01-01	$10.02	$10.89	$9.08	$16.46	$18.46	$14.29
1995-02-01	$10.03	$10.93	$9.06	$16.42	$18.37	$14.29
1995-03-01	$9.94	$10.70	$9.09	$16.42	$18.36	$14.31
1995-04-01	$9.90	$10.70	$9.00	$16.42	$18.38	$14.28
1995-05-01	$9.87	$10.65	$9.00	$16.40	$18.37	$14.24
1995-06-01	$9.88	$10.63	$9.02	$16.37	$18.36	$14.18
1995-07-01	$9.89	$10.68	$8.99	$16.36	$18.38	$14.14
1995-08-01	$9.96	$10.80	$9.00	$16.36	$18.37	$14.14
1995-09-01	$9.92	$10.77	$8.96	$16.35	$18.42	$14.09
1995-10-01	$9.91	$10.73	$9.00	$16.35	$18.42	$14.08
1995-11-01	$9.94	$10.78	$8.98	$16.35	$18.43	$14.07
1995-12-01	$9.86	$10.68	$8.97	$16.29	$18.36	$14.03
1996-01-01	$9.82	$10.56	$8.98	$16.29	$18.36	$14.02
1996-02-01	$9.87	$10.61	$9.02	$16.27	$18.37	$13.97
1996-03-01	$9.91	$10.69	$9.01	$16.25	$18.34	$13.96
1996-04-01	$9.90	$10.69	$8.99	$16.26	$18.33	$13.98
1996-05-01	$9.87	$10.65	$8.95	$16.26	$18.40	$13.92
1996-06-01	$9.88	$10.70	$8.91	$16.23	$18.36	$13.90
1996-07-01	$9.86	$10.65	$8.92	$16.23	$18.34	$13.93
1996-08-01	$9.83	$10.60	$8.92	$16.24	$18.33	$13.96
1996-09-01	$9.90	$10.58	$9.10	$16.22	$18.28	$13.97
1996-10-01	$9.87	$10.55	$9.05	$16.20	$18.25	$13.96
1996-11-01	$9.87	$10.50	$9.13	$16.22	$18.28	$13.96
1996-12-01	$9.91	$10.54	$9.16	$16.23	$18.29	$13.97
1997-01-01	$9.93	$10.54	$9.20	$16.23	$18.31	$13.96
1997-02-01	$9.91	$10.47	$9.26	$16.26	$18.36	$13.98
1997-03-01	$9.87	$10.45	$9.21	$16.27	$18.42	$13.95
1997-04-01	$9.92	$10.53	$9.25	$16.31	$18.45	$14.00
1997-05-01	$9.99	$10.60	$9.31	$16.34	$18.45	$14.05
1997-06-01	$10.15	$10.80	$9.40	$16.38	$18.50	$14.08
1997-07-01	$10.16	$10.81	$9.42	$16.43	$18.56	$14.10
1997-08-01	$10.16	$10.79	$9.44	$16.43	$18.56	$14.10
1997-09-01	$10.12	$10.82	$9.30	$16.46	$18.61	$14.09
1997-10-01	$10.17	$10.87	$9.37	$16.46	$18.63	$14.07
1997-11-01	$10.16	$10.86	$9.37	$16.46	$18.61	$14.12
1997-12-01	$10.15	$10.77	$9.42	$16.52	$18.68	$14.16
1998-01-01	$10.18	$10.85	$9.39	$16.54	$18.71	$14.18
1998-02-01	$10.19	$10.87	$9.39	$16.54	$18.68	$14.21
1998-03-01	$10.21	$10.87	$9.42	$16.58	$18.69	$14.26
1998-04-01	$10.23	$10.86	$9.47	$16.60	$18.73	$14.25
1998-05-01	$10.27	$10.86	$9.55	$16.61	$18.75	$14.26
1998-06-01	$10.21	$10.71	$9.61	$16.64	$18.76	$14.31
1998-07-01	$10.30	$10.79	$9.72	$16.67	$18.79	$14.34
1998-08-01	$10.39	$10.93	$9.77	$16.75	$18.90	$14.39
1998-09-01	$10.40	$10.92	$9.81	$16.78	$18.92	$14.42
1998-10-01	$10.45	$10.96	$9.87	$16.81	$18.91	$14.51
1998-11-01	$10.52	$11.04	$9.92	$16.86	$18.97	$14.53
1998-12-01	$10.62	$11.16	$10.00	$16.90	$19.01	$14.57
1999-01-01	$10.67	$11.21	$10.05	$16.95	$19.07	$14.60
1999-02-01	$10.69	$11.23	$10.05	$16.97	$19.10	$14.61
1999-03-01	$10.76	$11.29	$10.12	$16.98	$19.10	$14.63
1999-04-01	$10.79	$11.33	$10.16	$17.02	$19.14	$14.67
1999-05-01	$10.81	$11.38	$10.12	$17.05	$19.15	$14.72
1999-06-01	$10.77	$11.37	$10.05	$17.07	$19.18	$14.72
1999-07-01	$10.84	$11.42	$10.12	$17.11	$19.20	$14.78
1999-08-01	$10.85	$11.41	$10.14	$17.12	$19.20	$14.80
1999-09-01	$10.90	$11.48	$10.17	$17.15	$19.26	$14.80
1999-10-01	$10.93	$11.57	$10.10	$17.18	$19.33	$14.78
1999-11-01	$11.05	$11.75	$10.14	$17.16	$19.34	$14.75
1999-12-01	$11.01	$11.76	$10.05	$17.15	$19.33	$14.73
2000-01-01	$11.00	$11.77	$10.03	$17.16	$19.33	$14.76
2000-02-01	$11.07	$11.86	$10.08	$17.20	$19.39	$14.77
2000-03-01	$11.17	$11.95	$10.19	$17.25	$19.47	$14.79
2000-04-01	$11.21	$12.07	$10.15	$17.26	$19.48	$14.79
2000-05-01	$11.29	$12.15	$10.24	$17.26	$19.51	$14.78
2000-06-01	$11.37	$12.26	$10.30	$17.25	$19.48	$14.77
2000-07-01	$11.37	$12.30	$10.25	$17.21	$19.46	$14.72
2000-08-01	$11.34	$12.26	$10.24	$17.21	$19.46	$14.72
2000-09-01	$11.37	$12.30	$10.25	$17.18	$19.38	$14.75
2000-10-01	$11.38	$12.26	$10.35	$17.19	$19.40	$14.74
2000-11-01	$11.39	$12.20	$10.42	$17.21	$19.42	$14.76
2000-12-01	$11.38	$12.18	$10.44	$17.23	$19.45	$14.77
2001-01-01	$11.43	$12.25	$10.46	$17.23	$19.44	$14.78
2001-02-01	$11.38	$12.24	$10.35	$17.23	$19.42	$14.80
2001-03-01	$11.28	$12.13	$10.27	$17.24	$19.39	$14.85
2001-04-01	$11.29	$12.09	$10.35	$17.24	$19.37	$14.87
2001-05-01	$11.24	$12.07	$10.28	$17.25	$19.38	$14.89
2001-06-01	$11.24	$11.96	$10.40	$17.31	$19.43	$14.94
2001-07-01	$11.23	$11.93	$10.40	$17.31	$19.45	$14.93
2001-08-01	$11.27	$11.99	$10.44	$17.34	$19.50	$14.94
2001-09-01	$11.31	$11.96	$10.56	$17.38	$19.52	$15.00
2001-10-01	$11.28	$11.99	$10.49	$17.40	$19.53	$15.03
2001-11-01	$11.24	$11.98	$10.42	$17.44	$19.57	$15.08
2001-12-01	$11.27	$11.97	$10.47	$17.46	$19.56	$15.13
2002-01-01	$11.25	$11.90	$10.50	$17.52	$19.62	$15.18
2002-02-01	$11.29	$11.89	$10.63	$17.57	$19.67	$15.24
2002-03-01	$11.37	$12.01	$10.64	$17.59	$19.70	$15.24
2002-04-01	$11.36	$12.04	$10.61	$17.61	$19.74	$15.26
2002-05-01	$11.38	$12.01	$10.67	$17.65	$19.74	$15.32
2002-06-01	$11.33	$12.02	$10.54	$17.66	$19.76	$15.32
2002-07-01	$11.31	$11.96	$10.56	$17.67	$19.72	$15.38
2002-08-01	$11.31	$11.99	$10.50	$17.68	$19.73	$15.38
2002-09-01	$11.22	$11.99	$10.32	$17.71	$19.76	$15.41
2002-10-01	$11.21	$11.96	$10.30	$17.72	$19.76	$15.42
2002-11-01	$11.16	$11.90	$10.28	$17.75	$19.79	$15.46
2002-12-01	$11.14	$11.90	$10.23	$17.76	$19.79	$15.47
2003-01-01	$11.16	$11.94	$10.23	$17.74	$19.77	$15.46
2003-02-01	$11.09	$11.89	$10.11	$17.72	$19.75	$15.44
2003-03-01	$11.00	$11.79	$10.06	$17.73	$19.77	$15.44
2003-04-01	$10.98	$11.73	$10.07	$17.74	$19.75	$15.48
2003-05-01	$10.96	$11.68	$10.07	$17.74	$19.75	$15.49
2003-06-01	$10.96	$11.71	$10.02	$17.74	$19.73	$15.51
2003-07-01	$10.98	$11.74	$10.02	$17.80	$19.81	$15.54
2003-08-01	$10.99	$11.73	$10.08	$17.80	$19.79	$15.55
2003-09-01	$11.13	$11.91	$10.17	$17.80	$19.78	$15.56
2003-10-01	$11.14	$11.89	$10.20	$17.84	$19.79	$15.62
2003-11-01	$11.21	$11.88	$10.38	$17.81	$19.75	$15.61
2003-12-01	$11.23	$11.86	$10.44	$17.82	$19.74	$15.65
2004-01-01	$11.20	$11.82	$10.42	$17.83	$19.74	$15.66
2004-02-01	$11.27	$11.86	$10.55	$17.81	$19.72	$15.65
2004-03-01	$11.32	$11.90	$10.59	$17.81	$19.72	$15.64
2004-04-01	$11.32	$11.84	$10.64	$17.83	$19.73	$15.65
2004-05-01	$11.44	$12.10	$10.58	$17.82	$19.74	$15.63
2004-06-01	$11.46	$12.12	$10.61	$17.83	$19.76	$15.61
2004-07-01	$11.41	$12.10	$10.50	$17.81	$19.73	$15.59
2004-08-01	$11.36	$12.06	$10.48	$17.79	$19.72	$15.58
2004-09-01	$11.24	$11.85	$10.45	$17.80	$19.74	$15.57
2004-10-01	$11.18	$11.74	$10.43	$17.74	$19.65	$15.53
2004-11-01	$11.10	$11.70	$10.31	$17.73	$19.64	$15.51
2004-12-01	$11.21	$12.02	$10.24	$17.73	$19.67	$15.47
2005-01-01	$11.17	$11.97	$10.20	$17.72	$19.66	$15.46
2005-02-01	$11.14	$11.96	$10.14	$17.73	$19.69	$15.45
2005-03-01	$11.05	$11.89	$10.05	$17.69	$19.62	$15.44
2005-04-01	$10.99	$11.86	$9.94	$17.66	$19.59	$15.39
2005-05-01	$10.88	$11.65	$9.97	$17.65	$19.57	$15.40
2005-06-01	$10.89	$11.71	$9.95	$17.66	$19.56	$15.40
2005-07-01	$10.96	$11.78	$10.01	$17.62	$19.51	$15.38
2005-08-01	$10.96	$11.81	$9.96	$17.59	$19.43	$15.39
2005-09-01	$10.98	$11.83	$9.96	$17.58	$19.40	$15.42
2005-10-01	$11.09	$12.08	$9.93	$17.58	$19.44	$15.36
2005-11-01	$11.07	$12.09	$9.87	$17.57	$19.43	$15.34
2005-12-01	$10.91	$11.76	$9.87	$17.53	$19.36	$15.33
2006-01-01	$10.99	$11.83	$9.96	$17.52	$19.35	$15.30
2006-02-01	$10.96	$11.82	$9.88	$17.48	$19.28	$15.28
2006-03-01	$11.02	$11.90	$9.89	$17.51	$19.36	$15.27
2006-04-01	$11.07	$11.95	$9.93	$17.52	$19.39	$15.27
2006-05-01	$11.04	$11.94	$9.89	$17.48	$19.36	$15.20
2006-06-01	$11.01	$11.95	$9.85	$17.44	$19.32	$15.18
2006-07-01	$10.98	$11.86	$9.87	$17.42	$19.30	$15.15
2006-08-01	$10.94	$11.83	$9.81	$17.45	$19.34	$15.17
2006-09-01	$10.98	$11.87	$9.85	$17.43	$19.36	$15.08
2006-10-01	$10.88	$11.69	$9.83	$17.47	$19.41	$15.11
2006-11-01	$10.90	$11.73	$9.82	$17.50	$19.44	$15.13
2006-12-01	$10.94	$11.76	$9.85	$17.56	$19.51	$15.18
2007-01-01	$10.92	$11.77	$9.79	$17.57	$19.52	$15.21
2007-02-01	$10.99	$11.83	$9.89	$17.64	$19.60	$15.26
2007-03-01	$11.08	$11.85	$10.08	$17.68	$19.62	$15.33
2007-04-01	$11.17	$11.90	$10.23	$17.67	$19.60	$15.33
2007-05-01	$11.21	$11.93	$10.27	$17.64	$19.55	$15.32
2007-06-01	$11.18	$11.86	$10.25	$17.65	$19.54	$15.35
2007-07-01	$11.16	$11.87	$10.20	$17.66	$19.57	$15.35
2007-08-01	$11.20	$11.90	$10.24	$17.67	$19.59	$15.33
2007-09-01	$11.17	$11.90	$10.17	$17.66	$19.58	$15.35
2007-10-01	$11.24	$12.01	$10.19	$17.62	$19.51	$15.33
2007-11-01	$11.20	$11.95	$10.19	$17.57	$19.46	$15.28
2007-12-01	$11.29	$12.15	$10.19	$17.53	$19.43	$15.22
2008-01-01	$11.28	$12.16	$10.15	$17.49	$19.37	$15.20
2008-02-01	$11.21	$12.07	$10.12	$17.44	$19.32	$15.14
2008-03-01	$11.09	$11.95	$9.98	$17.36	$19.22	$15.08
2008-04-01	$11.04	$11.89	$9.93	$17.33	$19.18	$15.06
2008-05-01	$11.01	$11.90	$9.86	$17.39	$19.27	$15.08
2008-06-01	$10.98	$11.85	$9.91	$17.38	$19.30	$15.04
2008-07-01	$10.93	$11.77	$9.88	$17.36	$19.26	$15.04
2008-08-01	$10.91	$11.74	$9.87	$17.33	$19.25	$15.00
2008-09-01	$10.85	$11.66	$9.83	$17.29	$19.21	$14.94
2008-10-01	$10.82	$11.58	$9.86	$17.32	$19.28	$14.91
2008-11-01	$11.00	$11.83	$9.94	$17.36	$19.30	$14.98
2008-12-01	$10.91	$11.61	$9.92	$17.37	$19.33	$14.97
2009-01-01	$10.89	$11.54	$9.98	$17.41	$19.41	$14.95
2009-02-01	$10.88	$11.54	$9.96	$17.44	$19.42	$15.00
2009-03-01	$10.89	$11.59	$9.93	$17.50	$19.48	$15.07
2009-04-01	$10.84	$11.60	$9.81	$17.56	$19.56	$15.14
2009-05-01	$10.86	$11.66	$9.81	$17.60	$19.58	$15.20
2009-06-01	$10.85	$11.63	$9.81	$17.65	$19.56	$15.33
2009-07-01	$10.90	$11.69	$9.85	$17.68	$19.61	$15.35
2009-08-01	$10.95	$11.64	$10.02	$17.73	$19.65	$15.40
2009-09-01	$10.94	$11.64	$10.01	$17.74	$19.64	$15.45
2009-10-01	$10.82	$11.47	$9.96	$17.74	$19.61	$15.49
2009-11-01	$10.61	$11.19	$9.85	$17.77	$19.64	$15.52
2009-12-01	$10.61	$11.25	$9.79	$17.78	$19.65	$15.52
2010-01-01	$10.59	$11.27	$9.71	$17.81	$19.69	$15.55
2010-02-01	$10.60	$11.23	$9.78	$17.76	$19.62	$15.52
2010-03-01	$10.54	$11.20	$9.71	$17.72	$19.59	$15.47
2010-04-01	$10.50	$11.15	$9.64	$17.67	$19.50	$15.46
2010-05-01	$10.46	$11.04	$9.66	$17.63	$19.46	$15.43
2010-06-01	$10.52	$11.12	$9.68	$17.59	$19.46	$15.34
2010-07-01	$10.52	$11.14	$9.67	$17.58	$19.43	$15.32
2010-08-01	$10.41	$11.08	$9.51	$17.55	$19.34	$15.36
2010-09-01	$10.48	$11.10	$9.64	$17.55	$19.38	$15.34
2010-10-01	$10.55	$11.16	$9.72	$17.52	$19.31	$15.34
2010-11-01	$10.56	$11.19	$9.73	$17.50	$19.31	$15.30
2010-12-01	$10.56	$11.14	$9.79	$17.47	$19.26	$15.28
2011-01-01	$10.65	$11.23	$9.86	$17.42	$19.14	$15.30
2011-02-01	$10.60	$11.25	$9.76	$17.43	$19.17	$15.27
2011-03-01	$10.62	$11.21	$9.82	$17.39	$19.11	$15.24
2011-04-01	$10.50	$11.05	$9.78	$17.38	$19.12	$15.20
2011-05-01	$10.48	$11.02	$9.76	$17.35	$19.10	$15.16
2011-06-01	$10.42	$10.93	$9.74	$17.33	$19.08	$15.11
2011-07-01	$10.35	$10.86	$9.67	$17.29	$19.04	$15.07
2011-08-01	$10.36	$10.85	$9.70	$17.23	$19.01	$14.98
2011-09-01	$10.27	$10.75	$9.62	$17.22	$18.98	$14.99
2011-10-01	$10.24	$10.76	$9.54	$17.20	$18.96	$14.96
2011-11-01	$10.18	$10.70	$9.44	$17.10	$18.83	$14.92
2011-12-01	$10.13	$10.70	$9.35	$17.12	$18.88	$14.89
2012-01-01	$9.98	$10.49	$9.28	$17.10	$18.89	$14.85
2012-02-01	$9.95	$10.48	$9.21	$17.06	$18.82	$14.83
2012-03-01	$9.98	$10.51	$9.23	$17.03	$18.81	$14.78
2012-04-01	$10.10	$10.66	$9.30	$17.04	$18.82	$14.80
2012-05-01	$10.04	$10.58	$9.30	$17.01	$18.78	$14.78
2012-06-01	$10.03	$10.58	$9.29	$17.03	$18.81	$14.77
2012-07-01	$10.02	$10.54	$9.31	$17.00	$18.77	$14.77
2012-08-01	$10.08	$10.65	$9.29	$17.04	$18.78	$14.82
2012-09-01	$10.04	$10.64	$9.20	$17.01	$18.77	$14.77
2012-10-01	$10.03	$10.64	$9.17	$17.05	$18.81	$14.80
2012-11-01	$9.99	$10.61	$9.15	$17.05	$18.82	$14.77
2012-12-01	$9.94	$10.55	$9.13	$17.00	$18.74	$14.77
2013-01-01	$9.95	$10.61	$9.09	$16.98	$18.68	$14.78
2013-02-01	$9.97	$10.60	$9.17	$16.99	$18.69	$14.79
2013-03-01	$9.93	$10.51	$9.18	$17.04	$18.73	$14.84
2013-04-01	$9.99	$10.49	$9.33	$17.00	$18.69	$14.81
2013-05-01	$10.01	$10.50	$9.36	$16.99	$18.66	$14.84
2013-06-01	$9.96	$10.47	$9.29	$16.96	$18.59	$14.85
2013-07-01	$9.97	$10.51	$9.30	$16.98	$18.64	$14.85
2013-08-01	$9.92	$10.45	$9.26	$16.93	$18.61	$14.76
2013-09-01	$9.95	$10.47	$9.32	$16.92	$18.59	$14.76
2013-10-01	$9.96	$10.48	$9.32	$16.89	$18.54	$14.75
2013-11-01	$10.11	$10.70	$9.36	$16.84	$18.46	$14.75
2013-12-01	$10.17	$10.70	$9.43	$16.85	$18.47	$14.75
2014-01-01	$10.14	$10.66	$9.42	$16.83	$18.45	$14.71
2014-02-01	$10.13	$10.69	$9.37	$16.83	$18.46	$14.71
2014-03-01	$10.14	$10.73	$9.33	$16.80	$18.42	$14.70
2014-04-01	$10.12	$10.86	$9.14	$16.80	$18.42	$14.69
2014-05-01	$10.12	$10.90	$9.07	$16.78	$18.40	$14.66
2014-06-01	$10.21	$10.93	$9.22	$16.77	$18.40	$14.62
2014-07-01	$10.20	$10.91	$9.22	$16.92	$18.63	$14.65
2014-08-01	$10.23	$10.94	$9.23	$16.95	$18.65	$14.68
2014-09-01	$10.28	$11.00	$9.27	$16.96	$18.65	$14.71
2014-10-01	$10.30	$11.04	$9.29	$16.95	$18.64	$14.70
2014-11-01	$10.27	$10.93	$9.37	$17.00	$18.72	$14.71
2014-12-01	$10.31	$11.02	$9.32	$17.02	$18.76	$14.71
2015-01-01	$10.35	$11.01	$9.44	$17.10	$18.85	$14.78
2015-02-01	$10.46	$11.11	$9.51	$17.12	$18.89	$14.76
2015-03-01	$10.54	$11.22	$9.55	$17.16	$18.95	$14.77
2015-04-01	$10.54	$11.15	$9.60	$17.17	$18.96	$14.75
2015-05-01	$10.55	$11.14	$9.64	$17.24	$19.08	$14.78
2015-06-01	$10.57	$11.15	$9.67	$17.29	$19.10	$14.86
2015-07-01	$10.64	$11.23	$9.72	$17.16	$18.88	$14.86
2015-08-01	$10.64	$11.24	$9.73	$17.21	$18.96	$14.88
2015-09-01	$10.68	$11.24	$9.83	$17.20	$18.95	$14.87
2015-10-01	$10.79	$11.27	$10.07	$17.24	$19.00	$14.89
2015-11-01	$10.82	$11.24	$10.15	$17.30	$19.09	$14.90
2015-12-01	$10.85	$11.22	$10.28	$17.28	$19.05	$14.90
2016-01-01	$10.87	$11.28	$10.25	$17.30	$19.07	$14.90
2016-02-01	$10.80	$11.18	$10.25	$17.33	$19.08	$14.95
2016-03-01	$10.76	$11.15	$10.23	$17.34	$19.03	$15.05
2016-04-01	$10.75	$11.12	$10.27	$17.36	$19.03	$15.09
2016-05-01	$10.85	$11.23	$10.36	$17.38	$18.99	$15.20
2016-06-01	$10.83	$11.24	$10.30	$17.36	$19.00	$15.13
2016-07-01	$10.87	$11.27	$10.34	$17.40	$19.01	$15.20
2016-08-01	$10.90	$11.28	$10.39	$17.37	$18.98	$15.17
2016-09-01	$10.85	$11.24	$10.32	$17.42	$19.01	$15.24
2016-10-01	$10.77	$11.23	$10.17	$17.44	$19.02	$15.27
2016-11-01	$10.86	$11.38	$10.18	$17.45	$19.01	$15.30
2016-12-01	$10.85	$11.33	$10.23	$17.49	$19.05	$15.33
2017-01-01	$10.86	$11.35	$10.24	$17.47	$19.05	$15.29
2017-02-01	$10.89	$11.39	$10.24	$17.49	$19.09	$15.28

ChartData Download data

* Data reflect 12-month moving averages; data for 2017 represent 12-month average from March 2016 to February 2017.

Note: The age 17–20 cohort includes only those workers who are not enrolled in further schooling. Wages are in 2016 dollars. Shaded areas denote recessions.

Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata

Among those with a bachelor's degree, wages have stagnated since 2000 for young workers and workers overall: Real average hourly wages of workers with a bachelor's degree, by age, 1989–2017*

Date	All	Men	Women	All	Men	Women
1989-12-01	$17.09	$17.78	$16.59	$25.75	$29.72	$21.44
1990-01-01	$17.18	$17.97	$16.63	$25.88	$29.79	$21.56
1990-02-01	$17.17	$17.97	$16.59	$25.94	$29.86	$21.58
1990-03-01	$17.24	$18.03	$16.68	$26.07	$30.01	$21.62
1990-04-01	$17.40	$18.48	$16.63	$26.14	$30.07	$21.70
1990-05-01	$17.63	$18.48	$17.02	$26.20	$30.11	$21.76
1990-06-01	$17.65	$18.51	$17.00	$26.24	$30.09	$21.82
1990-07-01	$17.60	$18.59	$16.83	$26.34	$30.21	$21.87
1990-08-01	$17.62	$18.61	$16.83	$26.30	$30.10	$21.91
1990-09-01	$17.68	$18.68	$16.89	$26.33	$30.14	$21.95
1990-10-01	$17.61	$18.70	$16.80	$26.29	$30.16	$21.85
1990-11-01	$17.70	$18.71	$16.92	$26.27	$30.09	$21.92
1990-12-01	$17.67	$18.67	$16.91	$26.25	$30.01	$21.97
1991-01-01	$17.70	$18.59	$17.00	$26.22	$29.97	$21.97
1991-02-01	$17.67	$18.56	$16.98	$26.17	$29.88	$21.99
1991-03-01	$17.53	$18.56	$16.72	$26.10	$29.75	$22.03
1991-04-01	$17.38	$18.11	$16.79	$26.05	$29.67	$21.99
1991-05-01	$17.29	$18.36	$16.45	$25.99	$29.65	$21.92
1991-06-01	$17.20	$18.17	$16.44	$25.88	$29.48	$21.90
1991-07-01	$17.33	$18.33	$16.58	$25.90	$29.50	$21.93
1991-08-01	$17.23	$18.29	$16.44	$25.88	$29.45	$21.94
1991-09-01	$17.09	$18.23	$16.21	$25.91	$29.46	$21.95
1991-10-01	$17.04	$18.02	$16.28	$25.90	$29.38	$22.01
1991-11-01	$16.93	$17.84	$16.21	$25.87	$29.40	$21.94
1991-12-01	$16.88	$17.77	$16.17	$25.89	$29.45	$21.93
1992-01-01	$16.83	$17.71	$16.14	$26.02	$29.59	$22.04
1992-02-01	$16.80	$17.69	$16.11	$26.07	$29.67	$22.06
1992-03-01	$16.79	$17.57	$16.16	$26.07	$29.72	$22.01
1992-04-01	$16.81	$17.67	$16.12	$26.17	$29.84	$22.10
1992-05-01	$16.62	$17.30	$16.07	$26.30	$29.92	$22.27
1992-06-01	$16.67	$17.34	$16.12	$26.33	$29.97	$22.28
1992-07-01	$16.59	$17.14	$16.12	$26.39	$30.01	$22.34
1992-08-01	$16.53	$17.06	$16.06	$26.37	$29.98	$22.37
1992-09-01	$16.54	$16.92	$16.21	$26.47	$30.05	$22.52
1992-10-01	$16.59	$17.07	$16.18	$26.52	$30.09	$22.59
1992-11-01	$16.52	$17.05	$16.07	$26.54	$30.05	$22.66
1992-12-01	$16.34	$16.88	$15.88	$26.55	$30.06	$22.68
1993-01-01	$16.40	$17.06	$15.84	$26.52	$30.05	$22.66
1993-02-01	$16.38	$17.16	$15.71	$26.51	$30.02	$22.67
1993-03-01	$16.45	$17.32	$15.73	$26.51	$29.97	$22.73
1993-04-01	$16.31	$17.10	$15.69	$26.47	$29.90	$22.70
1993-05-01	$16.39	$17.13	$15.79	$26.48	$29.91	$22.70
1993-06-01	$16.46	$17.15	$15.90	$26.49	$29.89	$22.76
1993-07-01	$16.29	$16.84	$15.85	$26.47	$29.88	$22.74
1993-08-01	$16.30	$16.88	$15.82	$26.51	$29.93	$22.76
1993-09-01	$16.22	$16.98	$15.62	$26.43	$29.87	$22.68
1993-10-01	$16.32	$17.04	$15.78	$26.49	$29.95	$22.73
1993-11-01	$16.30	$17.04	$15.74	$26.55	$30.07	$22.71
1993-12-01	$16.39	$17.18	$15.80	$26.54	$30.02	$22.75
1994-01-01	$16.45	$17.15	$15.94	$26.56	$30.01	$22.79
1994-02-01	$16.57	$17.35	$16.04	$26.61	$30.01	$22.91
1994-03-01	$16.55	$17.25	$16.06	$26.69	$30.07	$23.00
1994-04-01	$16.51	$17.25	$16.00	$26.73	$30.07	$23.05
1994-05-01	$16.47	$17.36	$15.84	$26.76	$30.13	$23.05
1994-06-01	$16.38	$17.38	$15.65	$26.85	$30.32	$23.03
1994-07-01	$16.38	$17.59	$15.50	$26.86	$30.34	$23.04
1994-08-01	$16.34	$17.36	$15.60	$26.88	$30.27	$23.14
1994-09-01	$16.36	$17.30	$15.68	$26.96	$30.39	$23.19
1994-10-01	$16.35	$17.43	$15.51	$26.96	$30.34	$23.24
1994-11-01	$16.43	$17.65	$15.50	$26.95	$30.27	$23.29
1994-12-01	$16.41	$17.51	$15.57	$27.08	$30.43	$23.35
1995-01-01	$16.30	$17.42	$15.42	$27.02	$30.33	$23.34
1995-02-01	$16.24	$17.18	$15.47	$27.08	$30.42	$23.36
1995-03-01	$16.13	$17.09	$15.37	$27.00	$30.34	$23.30
1995-04-01	$16.19	$17.18	$15.40	$27.03	$30.44	$23.25
1995-05-01	$16.15	$17.06	$15.44	$27.08	$30.47	$23.32
1995-06-01	$16.15	$17.02	$15.48	$27.08	$30.36	$23.45
1995-07-01	$16.22	$16.95	$15.66	$27.11	$30.37	$23.50
1995-08-01	$16.19	$17.04	$15.53	$27.05	$30.28	$23.46
1995-09-01	$16.13	$17.01	$15.45	$27.06	$30.26	$23.48
1995-10-01	$15.95	$16.73	$15.38	$27.06	$30.32	$23.44
1995-11-01	$15.99	$16.68	$15.48	$27.09	$30.40	$23.43
1995-12-01	$15.99	$16.76	$15.44	$27.06	$30.40	$23.37
1996-01-01	$15.95	$16.81	$15.36	$27.17	$30.62	$23.40
1996-02-01	$15.87	$16.65	$15.34	$27.14	$30.59	$23.38
1996-03-01	$16.04	$16.67	$15.61	$27.15	$30.62	$23.39
1996-04-01	$16.01	$16.59	$15.61	$27.09	$30.50	$23.44
1996-05-01	$15.96	$16.48	$15.60	$27.03	$30.50	$23.31
1996-06-01	$15.87	$16.35	$15.53	$26.93	$30.49	$23.17
1996-07-01	$15.82	$16.33	$15.47	$26.81	$30.34	$23.10
1996-08-01	$16.14	$16.49	$15.89	$26.88	$30.45	$23.11
1996-09-01	$16.16	$16.55	$15.89	$26.89	$30.47	$23.12
1996-10-01	$16.16	$16.58	$15.89	$26.84	$30.42	$23.07
1996-11-01	$16.05	$16.49	$15.77	$26.87	$30.46	$23.10
1996-12-01	$16.06	$16.47	$15.79	$26.73	$30.21	$23.09
1997-01-01	$16.09	$16.42	$15.82	$26.71	$30.14	$23.08
1997-02-01	$15.98	$16.45	$15.64	$26.76	$30.19	$23.13
1997-03-01	$16.15	$16.84	$15.63	$26.78	$30.18	$23.16
1997-04-01	$16.23	$16.98	$15.67	$26.81	$30.27	$23.15
1997-05-01	$16.31	$17.08	$15.74	$26.83	$30.19	$23.26
1997-06-01	$16.45	$17.20	$15.89	$26.89	$30.24	$23.33
1997-07-01	$16.53	$17.41	$15.90	$27.02	$30.39	$23.46
1997-08-01	$16.37	$17.37	$15.65	$27.16	$30.56	$23.54
1997-09-01	$16.52	$17.51	$15.80	$27.20	$30.63	$23.59
1997-10-01	$16.58	$17.53	$15.88	$27.30	$30.75	$23.67
1997-11-01	$16.64	$17.64	$15.87	$27.41	$30.89	$23.77
1997-12-01	$16.69	$17.85	$15.85	$27.56	$31.13	$23.82
1998-01-01	$16.77	$17.99	$15.89	$27.66	$31.28	$23.89
1998-02-01	$17.02	$18.34	$16.03	$27.73	$31.38	$23.94
1998-03-01	$16.96	$18.48	$15.88	$27.87	$31.57	$24.02
1998-04-01	$17.15	$18.89	$15.97	$28.03	$31.73	$24.19
1998-05-01	$17.40	$19.09	$16.25	$28.12	$31.81	$24.28
1998-06-01	$17.42	$19.12	$16.28	$28.20	$31.85	$24.40
1998-07-01	$17.42	$19.01	$16.34	$28.30	$32.00	$24.41
1998-08-01	$17.84	$19.99	$16.31	$28.37	$32.05	$24.48
1998-09-01	$18.06	$20.33	$16.36	$28.44	$32.12	$24.56
1998-10-01	$18.21	$20.43	$16.57	$28.64	$32.37	$24.65
1998-11-01	$18.43	$20.68	$16.74	$28.73	$32.48	$24.72
1998-12-01	$18.54	$20.79	$16.87	$28.88	$32.68	$24.81
1999-01-01	$18.74	$20.76	$17.28	$28.90	$32.66	$24.86
1999-02-01	$18.73	$20.71	$17.29	$28.97	$32.70	$24.95
1999-03-01	$18.72	$20.37	$17.49	$29.02	$32.75	$25.00
1999-04-01	$18.49	$19.75	$17.48	$29.07	$32.86	$24.98
1999-05-01	$18.43	$19.95	$17.26	$29.21	$33.15	$24.96
1999-06-01	$18.56	$20.23	$17.32	$29.32	$33.33	$25.00
1999-07-01	$18.83	$20.40	$17.69	$29.43	$33.44	$25.13
1999-08-01	$18.55	$19.46	$17.91	$29.44	$33.45	$25.18
1999-09-01	$18.33	$19.12	$17.89	$29.48	$33.60	$25.11
1999-10-01	$18.44	$19.29	$17.94	$29.50	$33.58	$25.21
1999-11-01	$18.38	$19.21	$17.94	$29.50	$33.46	$25.33
1999-12-01	$18.63	$19.42	$18.19	$29.57	$33.58	$25.34
2000-01-01	$18.62	$19.69	$17.92	$29.67	$33.73	$25.38
2000-02-01	$18.63	$19.62	$18.01	$29.77	$33.86	$25.45
2000-03-01	$18.67	$19.71	$18.00	$29.77	$33.86	$25.46
2000-04-01	$18.79	$20.13	$17.96	$29.75	$33.81	$25.47
2000-05-01	$18.71	$19.94	$17.92	$29.79	$33.84	$25.53
2000-06-01	$18.86	$19.90	$18.17	$29.90	$34.03	$25.57
2000-07-01	$18.74	$19.91	$17.93	$29.97	$34.17	$25.59
2000-08-01	$18.80	$19.96	$18.00	$30.08	$34.31	$25.64
2000-09-01	$18.93	$19.97	$18.19	$30.16	$34.22	$25.86
2000-10-01	$18.96	$19.99	$18.23	$30.14	$34.18	$25.89
2000-11-01	$18.95	$19.84	$18.31	$30.13	$34.24	$25.79
2000-12-01	$18.92	$19.80	$18.29	$30.16	$34.17	$25.93
2001-01-01	$18.78	$19.62	$18.20	$30.23	$34.33	$25.93
2001-02-01	$18.84	$19.63	$18.28	$30.17	$34.35	$25.81
2001-03-01	$19.06	$20.08	$18.39	$30.24	$34.41	$25.88
2001-04-01	$19.11	$20.24	$18.35	$30.32	$34.49	$25.95
2001-05-01	$19.37	$20.59	$18.53	$30.33	$34.46	$26.00
2001-06-01	$19.20	$20.50	$18.32	$30.41	$34.49	$26.12
2001-07-01	$19.26	$20.43	$18.48	$30.37	$34.40	$26.13
2001-08-01	$19.24	$20.57	$18.29	$30.57	$34.53	$26.40
2001-09-01	$19.40	$21.01	$18.26	$30.59	$34.61	$26.33
2001-10-01	$19.34	$20.91	$18.23	$30.62	$34.65	$26.35
2001-11-01	$19.32	$20.86	$18.23	$30.65	$34.63	$26.42
2001-12-01	$19.11	$20.66	$18.00	$30.75	$34.78	$26.50
2002-01-01	$19.27	$20.84	$18.18	$30.76	$34.74	$26.57
2002-02-01	$19.44	$21.11	$18.30	$30.98	$35.05	$26.70
2002-03-01	$19.11	$20.59	$18.05	$31.04	$35.19	$26.69
2002-04-01	$19.05	$20.21	$18.20	$31.14	$35.33	$26.77
2002-05-01	$18.87	$19.91	$18.13	$31.10	$35.24	$26.77
2002-06-01	$18.90	$20.01	$18.11	$31.03	$35.20	$26.67
2002-07-01	$18.75	$19.99	$17.87	$31.10	$35.24	$26.78
2002-08-01	$18.71	$19.92	$17.89	$30.97	$35.13	$26.65
2002-09-01	$18.70	$20.01	$17.84	$30.94	$35.05	$26.71
2002-10-01	$18.73	$20.08	$17.85	$30.94	$35.08	$26.67
2002-11-01	$18.89	$20.31	$17.94	$30.97	$35.13	$26.69
2002-12-01	$18.92	$20.42	$17.93	$30.89	$35.11	$26.58
2003-01-01	$18.93	$20.39	$17.99	$30.86	$35.09	$26.53
2003-02-01	$18.70	$20.03	$17.82	$30.76	$34.91	$26.53
2003-03-01	$18.70	$19.88	$17.94	$30.76	$34.90	$26.52
2003-04-01	$18.71	$19.91	$17.93	$30.79	$34.93	$26.57
2003-05-01	$18.72	$19.99	$17.90	$30.89	$35.02	$26.68
2003-06-01	$18.70	$19.87	$17.94	$30.90	$35.02	$26.72
2003-07-01	$18.61	$19.69	$17.92	$30.83	$34.98	$26.60
2003-08-01	$18.57	$19.70	$17.83	$30.75	$34.99	$26.43
2003-09-01	$18.40	$19.43	$17.72	$30.71	$34.99	$26.37
2003-10-01	$18.45	$19.64	$17.65	$30.80	$35.09	$26.44
2003-11-01	$18.26	$19.45	$17.49	$30.86	$35.18	$26.47
2003-12-01	$18.24	$19.11	$17.67	$30.84	$35.08	$26.51
2004-01-01	$18.04	$18.69	$17.63	$30.89	$35.14	$26.56
2004-02-01	$18.11	$18.93	$17.59	$30.82	$34.98	$26.54
2004-03-01	$18.20	$19.10	$17.61	$30.81	$34.93	$26.57
2004-04-01	$18.43	$19.20	$17.92	$30.66	$34.70	$26.52
2004-05-01	$18.52	$19.22	$18.04	$30.62	$34.77	$26.36
2004-06-01	$18.37	$19.21	$17.81	$30.68	$34.96	$26.30
2004-07-01	$18.59	$19.34	$18.07	$30.72	$34.92	$26.42
2004-08-01	$18.56	$19.25	$18.10	$30.81	$35.04	$26.48
2004-09-01	$18.61	$19.43	$18.02	$30.93	$35.11	$26.63
2004-10-01	$18.57	$19.13	$18.16	$30.88	$35.04	$26.62
2004-11-01	$18.52	$19.26	$17.98	$30.82	$34.92	$26.61
2004-12-01	$18.51	$19.38	$17.85	$30.83	$34.98	$26.55
2005-01-01	$18.64	$19.73	$17.82	$30.74	$34.82	$26.55
2005-02-01	$18.50	$19.38	$17.82	$30.84	$35.02	$26.58
2005-03-01	$18.39	$19.36	$17.65	$30.86	$35.03	$26.61
2005-04-01	$18.21	$19.46	$17.27	$30.88	$35.14	$26.59
2005-05-01	$18.25	$19.83	$17.05	$30.93	$35.17	$26.67
2005-06-01	$18.40	$20.04	$17.16	$30.79	$34.90	$26.64
2005-07-01	$18.31	$20.15	$16.94	$30.89	$35.00	$26.74
2005-08-01	$18.44	$20.38	$16.99	$30.81	$34.89	$26.71
2005-09-01	$18.30	$19.98	$17.09	$30.74	$34.88	$26.58
2005-10-01	$18.22	$19.91	$16.99	$30.76	$34.92	$26.58
2005-11-01	$18.28	$19.75	$17.23	$30.70	$34.84	$26.56
2005-12-01	$18.19	$19.63	$17.17	$30.76	$34.92	$26.61
2006-01-01	$18.06	$19.52	$17.01	$30.76	$34.92	$26.61
2006-02-01	$18.35	$19.79	$17.30	$30.75	$34.93	$26.60
2006-03-01	$18.42	$19.90	$17.38	$30.65	$34.89	$26.50
2006-04-01	$18.38	$19.64	$17.49	$30.70	$34.93	$26.54
2006-05-01	$18.19	$19.07	$17.61	$30.62	$34.72	$26.58
2006-06-01	$18.09	$18.94	$17.50	$30.77	$34.88	$26.73
2006-07-01	$18.28	$19.03	$17.76	$30.67	$34.74	$26.65
2006-08-01	$18.05	$18.63	$17.66	$30.70	$34.73	$26.75
2006-09-01	$18.12	$18.72	$17.70	$30.67	$34.66	$26.76
2006-10-01	$18.23	$18.95	$17.72	$30.61	$34.62	$26.65
2006-11-01	$18.26	$19.12	$17.66	$30.66	$34.72	$26.67
2006-12-01	$18.34	$19.31	$17.64	$30.64	$34.70	$26.64
2007-01-01	$18.41	$19.47	$17.65	$30.62	$34.70	$26.61
2007-02-01	$18.55	$19.86	$17.61	$30.52	$34.52	$26.57
2007-03-01	$18.56	$19.88	$17.57	$30.58	$34.48	$26.69
2007-04-01	$18.63	$20.21	$17.48	$30.56	$34.50	$26.61
2007-05-01	$18.65	$20.28	$17.46	$30.66	$34.77	$26.56
2007-06-01	$18.69	$20.46	$17.43	$30.71	$34.92	$26.53
2007-07-01	$18.51	$20.57	$17.05	$30.79	$35.13	$26.50
2007-08-01	$18.73	$20.84	$17.23	$30.79	$35.15	$26.47
2007-09-01	$18.90	$20.92	$17.46	$30.83	$35.21	$26.52
2007-10-01	$18.85	$21.02	$17.34	$30.85	$35.23	$26.56
2007-11-01	$18.86	$20.89	$17.43	$30.87	$35.22	$26.56
2007-12-01	$18.81	$20.62	$17.56	$30.91	$35.24	$26.62
2008-01-01	$18.71	$20.19	$17.70	$30.87	$35.22	$26.60
2008-02-01	$18.41	$19.61	$17.60	$30.97	$35.38	$26.64
2008-03-01	$18.53	$19.70	$17.76	$31.05	$35.53	$26.65
2008-04-01	$18.52	$19.60	$17.75	$30.97	$35.39	$26.63
2008-05-01	$18.53	$19.52	$17.83	$30.89	$35.27	$26.60
2008-06-01	$18.60	$19.31	$18.08	$30.73	$35.04	$26.49
2008-07-01	$18.51	$19.06	$18.09	$30.60	$34.85	$26.39
2008-08-01	$18.50	$19.28	$17.97	$30.59	$34.85	$26.40
2008-09-01	$18.32	$19.20	$17.71	$30.58	$34.86	$26.35
2008-10-01	$18.30	$18.90	$17.87	$30.68	$34.94	$26.46
2008-11-01	$18.26	$18.92	$17.79	$30.84	$35.29	$26.44
2008-12-01	$18.42	$19.12	$17.91	$30.83	$35.27	$26.48
2009-01-01	$18.54	$19.41	$17.89	$31.11	$35.64	$26.63
2009-02-01	$18.49	$19.52	$17.75	$31.12	$35.68	$26.65
2009-03-01	$18.41	$19.40	$17.72	$31.08	$35.71	$26.56
2009-04-01	$18.40	$19.46	$17.73	$31.18	$35.90	$26.58
2009-05-01	$18.43	$19.70	$17.58	$31.22	$35.96	$26.61
2009-06-01	$18.54	$19.96	$17.56	$31.35	$36.15	$26.69
2009-07-01	$18.90	$20.63	$17.78	$31.46	$36.32	$26.78
2009-08-01	$18.85	$20.47	$17.76	$31.51	$36.45	$26.76
2009-09-01	$18.89	$20.30	$17.96	$31.53	$36.44	$26.82
2009-10-01	$18.70	$20.13	$17.76	$31.38	$36.24	$26.74
2009-11-01	$19.04	$21.19	$17.63	$31.21	$36.02	$26.67
2009-12-01	$18.85	$21.14	$17.36	$31.10	$35.89	$26.56
2010-01-01	$18.82	$21.19	$17.29	$30.96	$35.68	$26.50
2010-02-01	$18.76	$21.19	$17.18	$30.90	$35.62	$26.43
2010-03-01	$18.85	$21.49	$17.08	$30.80	$35.42	$26.40
2010-04-01	$18.99	$21.72	$17.07	$30.85	$35.40	$26.50
2010-05-01	$18.72	$21.41	$16.86	$30.89	$35.46	$26.52
2010-06-01	$18.47	$20.94	$16.80	$30.82	$35.29	$26.56
2010-07-01	$18.09	$20.00	$16.73	$30.78	$35.20	$26.60
2010-08-01	$18.13	$19.96	$16.84	$30.80	$35.15	$26.68
2010-09-01	$18.04	$20.21	$16.47	$30.86	$35.25	$26.67
2010-10-01	$18.24	$20.47	$16.62	$30.98	$35.41	$26.77
2010-11-01	$17.84	$19.38	$16.68	$30.98	$35.33	$26.81
2010-12-01	$17.83	$19.33	$16.69	$31.11	$35.49	$26.92
2011-01-01	$17.69	$19.06	$16.65	$31.10	$35.54	$26.87
2011-02-01	$17.77	$19.16	$16.70	$31.03	$35.39	$26.86
2011-03-01	$17.91	$19.46	$16.67	$31.09	$35.45	$26.92
2011-04-01	$17.64	$18.97	$16.62	$30.95	$35.24	$26.85
2011-05-01	$17.80	$19.06	$16.82	$30.89	$35.11	$26.85
2011-06-01	$17.77	$19.12	$16.73	$30.78	$34.93	$26.79
2011-07-01	$17.94	$19.38	$16.87	$30.61	$34.66	$26.69
2011-08-01	$17.94	$19.46	$16.79	$30.49	$34.54	$26.58
2011-09-01	$17.94	$19.25	$16.94	$30.36	$34.40	$26.46
2011-10-01	$17.80	$19.17	$16.76	$30.22	$34.24	$26.34
2011-11-01	$17.81	$19.30	$16.66	$30.22	$34.25	$26.29
2011-12-01	$17.93	$19.47	$16.76	$30.17	$34.29	$26.19
2012-01-01	$17.82	$19.38	$16.59	$30.17	$34.21	$26.23
2012-02-01	$17.59	$19.00	$16.47	$30.11	$34.06	$26.26
2012-03-01	$17.09	$18.09	$16.35	$30.16	$34.24	$26.20
2012-04-01	$17.07	$18.22	$16.22	$30.19	$34.35	$26.16
2012-05-01	$17.08	$18.26	$16.21	$30.17	$34.34	$26.15
2012-06-01	$17.14	$18.33	$16.24	$30.28	$34.54	$26.17
2012-07-01	$17.14	$18.66	$16.00	$30.45	$34.87	$26.14
2012-08-01	$17.02	$18.52	$15.93	$30.43	$34.92	$26.06
2012-09-01	$17.08	$18.55	$15.98	$30.52	$34.95	$26.22
2012-10-01	$17.07	$18.60	$15.97	$30.59	$35.17	$26.17
2012-11-01	$17.19	$18.65	$16.14	$30.56	$35.28	$26.03
2012-12-01	$17.31	$18.69	$16.30	$30.58	$35.25	$26.09
2013-01-01	$17.44	$18.80	$16.47	$30.56	$35.19	$26.11
2013-02-01	$17.55	$18.93	$16.57	$30.72	$35.44	$26.16
2013-03-01	$17.70	$19.19	$16.64	$30.70	$35.33	$26.19
2013-04-01	$17.65	$19.11	$16.54	$30.88	$35.58	$26.31
2013-05-01	$17.69	$19.25	$16.46	$30.92	$35.66	$26.31
2013-06-01	$17.63	$19.17	$16.44	$30.92	$35.60	$26.38
2013-07-01	$17.48	$18.78	$16.44	$30.85	$35.51	$26.33
2013-08-01	$17.64	$19.13	$16.42	$30.95	$35.55	$26.49
2013-09-01	$17.62	$19.34	$16.28	$31.02	$35.77	$26.42
2013-10-01	$17.74	$19.56	$16.28	$30.95	$35.60	$26.41
2013-11-01	$17.72	$19.53	$16.25	$31.06	$35.56	$26.66
2013-12-01	$17.51	$19.48	$15.96	$31.12	$35.56	$26.76
2014-01-01	$17.51	$19.72	$15.78	$31.11	$35.56	$26.73
2014-02-01	$17.47	$19.70	$15.74	$31.04	$35.39	$26.76
2014-03-01	$17.46	$19.73	$15.68	$31.02	$35.25	$26.86
2014-04-01	$17.64	$19.87	$15.93	$30.84	$34.94	$26.82
2014-05-01	$17.60	$19.75	$15.95	$30.77	$34.74	$26.87
2014-06-01	$17.69	$20.08	$15.88	$30.77	$34.81	$26.82
2014-07-01	$17.86	$20.51	$15.85	$30.71	$34.70	$26.84
2014-08-01	$17.83	$20.44	$15.83	$30.70	$34.73	$26.78
2014-09-01	$17.83	$20.25	$15.91	$30.64	$34.59	$26.78
2014-10-01	$17.80	$20.01	$16.04	$30.68	$34.60	$26.86
2014-11-01	$17.88	$20.25	$16.01	$30.69	$34.58	$26.90
2014-12-01	$18.06	$20.35	$16.23	$30.62	$34.48	$26.84
2015-01-01	$18.01	$20.01	$16.39	$30.71	$34.67	$26.85
2015-02-01	$18.19	$20.00	$16.71	$30.89	$34.95	$26.91
2015-03-01	$18.19	$19.91	$16.79	$30.94	$35.09	$26.91
2015-04-01	$18.24	$20.03	$16.77	$31.12	$35.42	$26.94
2015-05-01	$18.33	$20.13	$16.89	$31.19	$35.54	$26.93
2015-06-01	$18.40	$20.07	$17.02	$31.18	$35.53	$26.91
2015-07-01	$18.70	$20.34	$17.30	$31.40	$35.67	$27.18
2015-08-01	$18.59	$20.09	$17.36	$31.42	$35.70	$27.17
2015-09-01	$18.64	$20.27	$17.29	$31.51	$35.79	$27.23
2015-10-01	$18.73	$20.69	$17.09	$31.57	$35.87	$27.26
2015-11-01	$18.63	$20.53	$17.03	$31.65	$36.04	$27.28
2015-12-01	$18.68	$20.77	$16.95	$31.76	$36.27	$27.27
2016-01-01	$18.79	$21.08	$16.94	$31.71	$36.22	$27.25
2016-02-01	$18.76	$21.21	$16.78	$31.80	$36.48	$27.18
2016-03-01	$19.00	$21.40	$17.05	$31.93	$36.62	$27.30
2016-04-01	$19.20	$21.50	$17.35	$32.01	$36.69	$27.38
2016-05-01	$19.18	$21.52	$17.27	$32.15	$36.88	$27.46
2016-06-01	$18.99	$21.24	$17.16	$32.25	$37.05	$27.48
2016-07-01	$18.49	$20.61	$16.85	$32.19	$37.14	$27.29
2016-08-01	$18.54	$20.64	$16.92	$32.30	$37.31	$27.36
2016-09-01	$18.67	$20.84	$16.97	$32.31	$37.41	$27.29
2016-10-01	$18.66	$20.68	$17.15	$32.39	$37.56	$27.34
2016-11-01	$18.79	$20.60	$17.44	$32.40	$37.64	$27.30
2016-12-01	$18.80	$20.44	$17.57	$32.49	$37.88	$27.24
2017-01-01	$19.04	$20.50	$17.93	$32.49	$37.82	$27.29
2017-02-01	$19.18	$20.87	$17.88	$32.40	$37.65	$27.31

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* Data reflect 12-month moving averages; data for 2017 represent 12-month average from March 2016 to February 2017.

Note: The age 21–24 cohort includes only those who do not have an advanced degree and are not enrolled in further schooling. Wages are in 2016 dollars. Shaded areas denote recessions.

Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata

Share of private-sector workers with employer-provided health insurance, by race and ethnicity, 1979–2016

Date	All	White	Black	Hispanic
1979	69.0%	70.3%	63.1%	60.4%
1980	70.2%	71.4%	64.7%	62.2%
1981	70.5%	71.8%	65.1%	61.5%
1982	69.6%	70.6%	65.5%	61.9%
1983	68.6%	69.7%	64.1%	61.3%
1984	67.1%	68.6%	63.0%	56.0%
1985	67.0%	68.6%	62.1%	55.6%
1986	66.2%	68.1%	61.3%	52.9%
1987	62.4%	64.9%	55.1%	46.1%
1988	61.7%	64.1%	54.1%	47.2%
1989	61.5%	64.0%	56.3%	46.0%
1990	59.9%	62.4%	53.3%	45.1%
1991	59.7%	62.4%	52.2%	44.9%
1992	58.3%	61.2%	50.4%	41.6%
1993	58.9%	62.0%	52.2%	43.0%
1994	58.7%	61.8%	54.4%	40.1%
1995	58.5%	61.7%	53.0%	42.1%
1996	59.1%	62.1%	55.7%	42.4%
1997	58.0%	61.2%	54.4%	41.2%
1998	58.7%	62.1%	53.9%	41.7%
1999	58.9%	62.4%	55.7%	41.3%
2000	58.9%	62.7%	55.4%	41.8%
2001	58.2%	62.1%	55.7%	40.5%
2002	57.3%	61.2%	54.4%	41.0%
2003	56.4%	60.3%	54.3%	39.3%
2004	55.9%	59.7%	54.1%	39.7%
2005	54.9%	58.9%	52.5%	38.6%
2006	55.0%	59.6%	52.4%	37.3%
2007	55.4%	59.7%	53.4%	38.6%
2008	55.2%	59.6%	52.5%	38.7%
2009	53.6%	58.2%	50.2%	35.9%
2010	53.1%	57.8%	49.5%	36.3%
2011	52.3%	56.9%	50.0%	35.7%
2012	51.6%	56.3%	48.5%	35.3%
2013	52.7%	57.1%	50.0%	37.2%
2014	52.8%	56.9%	50.8%	39.1%
2015	52.7%	56.3%	50.0%	41.2%
2016	53.1%	56.7%	51.2%	41.6%

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Note: Race/ethnicity categories are mutually exclusive (i.e., white non-Hispanic, black non-Hispanic, and Hispanic any race). Sample is of private-sector wage-and-salary earners age 18–64 who worked at least 20 hours per week and 26 weeks per year. Coverage is defined as being included in an employer-provided plan for which the employer paid for at least some of the coverage.

Source: Authors' analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement microdata

UPDATED FROM: Figure 4I in The State of Working America, 12th Edition, an Economic Policy Institute book published by Cornell University Press in 2012

Share of private-sector workers with employer-provided pension coverage, by educational attainment, 1979–2016

Date	All	High school	Bachelor’s degree
1979	50.6%	51.2%	61.0%
1980	50.0%	50.8%	58.3%
1981	49.0%	48.8%	58.0%
1982	48.0%	47.9%	55.9%
1983	47.5%	47.7%	57.3%
1984	46.0%	45.7%	56.4%
1985	46.2%	45.3%	56.8%
1986	45.4%	44.5%	56.4%
1987	42.5%	42.0%	52.8%
1988	42.8%	42.8%	52.6%
1989	43.7%	42.9%	55.4%
1990	43.9%	43.3%	55.8%
1991	44.5%	42.7%	56.3%
1992	44.5%	43.0%	56.6%
1993	43.7%	41.4%	56.9%
1994	45.7%	43.2%	59.1%
1995	45.8%	43.2%	58.8%
1996	47.1%	44.2%	61.7%
1997	47.1%	43.8%	61.9%
1998	48.5%	46.0%	63.3%
1999	48.6%	44.9%	63.1%
2000	48.3%	43.8%	63.7%
2001	47.1%	42.8%	62.1%
2002	45.5%	41.4%	59.9%
2003	45.9%	40.9%	60.2%
2004	45.5%	40.2%	60.6%
2005	44.1%	39.0%	58.7%
2006	42.8%	37.1%	57.0%
2007	44.6%	38.8%	58.2%
2008	43.4%	38.1%	56.3%
2009	42.6%	36.3%	54.9%
2010	42.8%	36.3%	56.1%
2011	42.4%	35.7%	54.0%
2012	42.3%	35.2%	55.0%
2013	39.2%	34.6%	49.6%
2014	37.0%	31.7%	46.9%
2015	33.7%	28.5%	41.9%
2016	32.4%	27.3%	40.6%

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Note: Sample is of private-sector wage-and-salary earners age 18–64 who worked at least 20 hours per week and 26 weeks per year.

Source: Authors' analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement microdata

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CEOs make 271 times more than typical workers: CEO-to-worker compensation ratio, 1965–2016

Year	CEO-to-worker compensation ratio based on options realized	CEO-to-worker compensation ratio based on options granted
1965	20.2	18.4
1966	21.3	19.4
1967	22.6	20.6
1968	23.9	21.8
1969	23.6	23.6
1970	23.3	23.3
1971	23.0	23.0
1972	22.8	22.8
1973	22.5	20.5
1974	23.8	23.8
1975	25.3	25.3
1976	26.8	26.8
1977	28.4	28.4
1978	30.1	27.4
1979	32.0	29.2
1980	34.0	31.0
1981	36.1	32.9
1982	38.4	35.0
1983	40.8	37.2
1984	43.4	39.6
1985	46.1	42.0
1986	49.0	44.7
1987	52.1	47.5
1988	55.4	50.5
1989	58.9	53.7
1990	71.3	64.9
1991	86.3	78.6
1992	104.4	95.2
1993	111.8	99.9
1994	87.3	119.0
1995	122.6	136.8
1996	153.8	183.3
1997	233.0	236.9
1998	321.8	317.7
1999	286.7	301.5
2000	376.1	411.3
2001	214.2	338.7
2002	192.1	242.1
2003	234.9	231.4
2004	263.1	236.7
2005	314.6	246.5
2006	344.1	246.8
2007	347.5	240.8
2008	238.3	225.2
2009	196.6	183.9
2010	230.3	206.3
2011	232.7	213.2
2012	281.5	209.8
2013	291.8	214.5
2014	298.7	224.5
2015	286.1	219.7
2016	270.5	223.8

ChartData Download data

Notes: CEO annual compensation is computed using the “options realized” and “options granted” compensation series for CEOs at the top 350 U.S. firms ranked by sales. The “options realized” series includes salary, bonus, restricted stock grants, options realized, and long-term incentive payouts. The “options granted” series includes salary, bonus, restricted stock grants, options granted, and long-term incentive payouts. Projected value for 2016 is based on the change in CEO pay as measured from June 2015 to June 2016 applied to the full-year 2015 value. Projections for compensation based on options granted and options realized are calculated separately. “Typical worker” compensation is the average annual compensation of the workers in the key industries of the firms in the sample.

Source: Authors’ analysis of data from Compustat’s ExecuComp database, the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics data series, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis NIPA tables

Minimum Wage

The federal minimum wage would be much higher if it had kept up with a growing economy

	Actual minimum wage (2017$)	Minimum wage if it had grown with average wages of production and nonsupervisory workers	Minimum wage if it had grown with productivity
1938	$ 3.80
1939	$ 4.63
1940	$ 4.60
1941	$ 4.38
1942	$ 3.95
1943	$ 3.72
1944	$ 3.66
1945	$ 4.77
1946	$ 4.40
1947	$ 3.85
1948	$ 3.56		$5.67
1949	$ 3.61		$5.75
1950	$ 6.68		$5.84
1951	$ 6.19		$6.29
1952	$ 6.07		$6.46
1953	$ 6.03		$6.65
1954	$ 5.98		$6.88
1955	$ 6.00		$6.99
1956	$ 7.89		$7.28
1957	$ 7.63		$7.29
1958	$ 7.42		$7.49
1959	$ 7.37		$7.64
1960	$ 7.25		$7.92
1961	$ 8.25		$8.06
1962	$ 8.17		$8.31
1963	$ 8.76		$8.62
1964	$ 8.65		$8.92
1965	$ 8.51		$9.21
1966	$ 8.28		$9.49
1967	$ 8.99		$9.78
1968	$ 9.90	$ 9.90	$9.90
1969	$ 9.47	$ 10.08	$9.94
1970	$ 9.03	$ 10.18	$10.08
1971	$ 8.66	$ 10.39	$10.46
1972	$ 8.40	$ 10.85	$10.73
1973	$ 7.90	$ 10.83	$10.99
1974	$ 8.99	$ 10.56	$10.82
1975	$ 8.71	$ 10.41	$11.06
1976	$ 9.03	$ 10.54	$11.37
1977	$ 8.49	$ 10.64	$11.50
1978	$ 9.15	$ 10.76	$11.59
1979	$ 9.15	$ 10.60	$11.61
1980	$ 8.80	$ 10.30	$11.52
1981	$ 8.68	$ 10.22	$11.77
1982	$ 8.19	$ 10.19	$11.59
1983	$ 7.85	$ 10.19	$11.94
1984	$ 7.54	$ 10.13	$12.25
1985	$ 7.29	$ 10.08	$12.46
1986	$ 7.16	$ 10.11	$12.72
1987	$ 6.93	$ 10.02	$12.78
1988	$ 6.68	$ 9.98	$12.93
1989	$ 6.41	$ 9.93	$13.03
1990	$ 6.92	$ 9.85	$13.22
1991	$ 7.47	$ 9.80	$13.30
1992	$ 7.29	$ 9.79	$13.80
1993	$ 7.11	$ 9.80	$13.85
1994	$ 6.97	$ 9.85	$13.96
1995	$ 6.80	$ 9.88	$14.02
1996	$ 7.40	$ 9.95	$14.29
1997	$ 7.86	$ 10.11	$14.53
1998	$ 7.75	$ 10.38	$14.83
1999	$ 7.59	$ 10.53	$15.22
2000	$ 7.34	$ 10.59	$15.55
2001	$ 7.14	$ 10.68	$15.79
2002	$ 7.03	$ 10.82	$16.24
2003	$ 6.87	$ 10.87	$16.77
2004	$ 6.69	$ 10.80	$17.22
2005	$ 6.47	$ 10.74	$17.52
2006	$ 6.27	$ 10.80	$17.62
2007	$ 6.92	$ 10.92	$17.74
2008	$ 7.47	$ 10.92	$17.78
2009	$ 8.29	$ 11.29	$18.15
2010	$ 8.16	$ 11.37	$18.68
2011	$ 7.91	$ 11.24	$18.71
2012	$ 7.75	$ 11.18	$18.81
2013	$ 7.64	$ 11.24	$18.87
2014	$ 7.52	$ 11.32	$18.97
2015	$ 7.51	$ 11.54	$19.07
2016	$ 7.41	$ 11.68	$19.10
2017	$ 7.25	$ 11.62	$19.33

ChartData Download data

Note: Growth in average wages measures anverage wages of production workers. Inflation measured using the CPI-U-RS and the CPI projection for 2017 from CBO (2017). Productivity is measured as total economy productivity net depreciation.

Source: EPI analysis of the Fair Labor Standards Act and amendments. Total economy productivity data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Labor Productivity and Costs program. Average hourly wages of production nonsupervisory workers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics.

Unions

Union membership and share of income going to the top 10 percent, 1917–2015

Year	Union membership	Share of income going to the top 10 percent
1917	11.0%	40.3%
1918	12.1%	39.9%
1919	14.3%	39.5%
1920	17.5%	38.1%
1921	17.6%	42.9%
1922	14.0%	42.9%
1923	11.7%	40.6%
1924	11.3%	43.3%
1925	11.0%	44.2%
1926	10.7%	44.1%
1927	10.6%	44.7%
1928	10.4%	46.1%
1929	10.1%	43.8%
1930	10.7%	43.1%
1931	11.2%	44.4%
1932	11.3%	46.3%
1933	9.5%	45.0%
1934	9.8%	45.2%
1935	10.8%	43.4%
1936	11.1%	44.8%
1937	18.6%	43.3%
1938	23.9%	43.0%
1939	24.8%	44.6%
1940	23.5%	44.4%
1941	25.4%	41.0%
1942	24.2%	35.5%
1943	30.1%	32.7%
1944	32.5%	31.5%
1945	33.4%	32.6%
1946	31.9%	34.6%
1947	31.1%	33.0%
1948	30.5%	33.7%
1949	29.6%	33.8%
1950	30.0%	33.9%
1951	32.4%	32.8%
1952	31.5%	32.1%
1953	33.2%	31.4%
1954	32.7%	32.1%
1955	32.9%	31.8%
1956	33.2%	31.8%
1957	32.0%	31.7%
1958	31.1%	32.1%
1959	31.6%	32.0%
1960	30.7%	31.7%
1961	28.7%	31.9%
1962	29.1%	32.0%
1963	28.5%	32.0%
1964	28.5%	31.6%
1965	28.6%	31.5%
1966	28.7%	32.0%
1967	28.6%	32.0%
1968	28.7%	32.0%
1969	28.3%	31.8%
1970	27.9%	31.5%
1971	27.4%	31.8%
1972	27.5%	31.6%
1973	27.1%	31.9%
1974	26.5%	32.4%
1975	25.7%	32.6%
1976	25.7%	32.4%
1977	25.2%	32.4%
1978	24.7%	32.4%
1979	25.4%	32.3%
1980	23.6%	32.9%
1981	22.3%	32.7%
1982	21.6%	33.2%
1983	21.4%	33.7%
1984	20.5%	33.9%
1985	19.0%	34.3%
1986	18.5%	34.6%
1987	17.9%	36.5%
1988	17.6%	38.6%
1989	17.2%	38.5%
1990	16.7%	38.8%
1991	16.2%	38.4%
1992	16.2%	39.8%
1993	16.2%	39.5%
1994	16.1%	39.6%
1995	15.3%	40.5%
1996	14.9%	41.2%
1997	14.7%	41.7%
1998	14.2%	42.1%
1999	13.9%	42.7%
2000	13.5%	43.1%
2001	13.5%	42.2%
2002	13.3%	42.4%
2003	12.9%	42.8%
2004	12.5%	43.6%
2005	12.5%	44.9%
2006	12.0%	45.5%
2007	12.1%	45.7%
2008	12.4%	46.0%
2009	12.3%	45.5%
2010	11.9%	46.4%
2011	11.8%	46.6%
2012	11.2%	47.8%
2013	11.2%	46.7%
2014	11.1%	47.3%
2015	11.1%	47.8%

ChartData Download data

Sources: Data on union density follows the composite series found in Historical Statistics of the United States; updated to 2015 from unionstats.com. Income inequality (share of income to top 10 percent) data are from Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, “Income Inequality in the United States, 1913–1998,” Quarterly Journal of Economics vol. 118, no. 1 (2003) and updated data from the Top Income Database, updated June 2016.

Median hourly compensation growth is lower in states where collective bargaining coverage declined the most, 1979–2012

Note: Excludes Alaska and the District of Columbia.

Source: EPI analysis of wage data from the Current Population Survey; compensation data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, State/National Income and Product Accounts public data series; and collective bargaining data from the Current Population Survey

Private-sector unionization has declined as a direct result of anti-union policies: Union coverage rates by sector, 1973–2016

	Private sector	Public sector
1973	25.8%	30.3%
1974	25.0%	31.8%
1975	23.1%	32.1%
1976	22.9%	32.7%
1977	23.3%	40.1%
1978	22.5%	40.5%
1979	23.2%	44.2%
1980	21.7%	43.4%
1981	20.4%	41.6%
1982	19.5%	43.6%
1983	18.5%	45.5%
1984	17.0%	43.9%
1985	15.9%	43.1%
1986	15.2%	43.2%
1987	14.4%	42.5%
1988	14.0%	43.5%
1989	13.5%	43.5%
1990	13.2%	43.3%
1991	12.9%	43.3%
1992	12.5%	43.2%
1993	12.1%	43.8%
1994	11.9%	44.7%
1995	11.3%	43.5%
1996	11.0%	43.0%
1997	10.6%	42.3%
1998	10.3%	42.5%
1999	10.2%	42.1%
2000	9.8%	42.0%
2001	9.7%	41.7%
2002	9.3%	41.9%
2003	9.0%	41.5%
2004	8.6%	40.7%
2005	8.5%	40.5%
2006	8.1%	40.1%
2007	8.2%	39.8%
2008	8.4%	40.7%
2009	8.0%	41.1%
2010	7.7%	40.0%
2011	7.6%	40.7%
2012	7.3%	39.6%
2013	7.5%	38.7%
2014	7.4%	39.2%
2015	7.4%	39.0%
2016	7.3%	37.9%

ChartData Download data

Note: Coverage rates are based on data for all workers age 16 and up.

Source: EPI analysis of data from the Union Membership and Coverage Database (unionstats.com), compiled by Barry Hirsch and David Macpherson (posted February 11, 2017)

Overtime

Share of full-time salary workforce who earn less than the federal overtime salary threshold, 1975--2016

Year	Share of FT salaried workers below threshold
1975	62.8%
1976	57.4%
1977	51.8%
1978	46.3%
1979	38.9%
1980	33.0%
1981	27.1%
1982	22.5%
1983	19.9%
1984	16.9%
1985	14.4%
1986	12.6%
1987	10.7%
1988	9.4%
1989	9.0%
1990	7.8%
1991	6.4%
1992	6.1%
1993	5.6%
1994	7.2%
1995	6.6%
1996	6.3%
1997	5.5%
1998	5.1%
1999	4.2%
2000	4.0%
2001	3.6%
2002	3.3%
2003	3.2%
2004	13.4%
2005	13.1%
2006	11.6%
2007	11.1%
2008	10.0%
2009	9.6%
2010	9.3%
2011	9.1%
2012	8.7%
2013	8.2%
2014	7.9%
2015	7.6%
2016	6.8%

ChartData Download data

Source: Authors’ analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata, various years

Federal Reserve: prioritize full employment

Reducing unemployment would disproportionately boost low- and moderate-wage workers' wages: Effect on hourly wages of a one-point decline in unemployment rate, by decile and gender

	Men	Women
10th	2.0%	1.4%
20th	1.6%	1.0%
30th	1.5%	1.0%
40th	1.0%	0.9%
50th	0.9%	0.9%
60th	0.8%	0.7%
70th	0.9%	0.5%
80th	0.8%	0.6%
90th	0.5%	0.8%

ChartData Download data

Note: Figure is based on data from 1979 to 2007.

Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata

NAIRU versus actual unemployment rate, 1949–2014

Source: EPI analysis of Congressional Budget Office, "Estimates of Potential GDP and the Related Unemployment Rate," 2014; and Current Population Series public data series

What can happen if we do raise wages?

What should you be making?

Gender Wage Gap Calculator

Women’s wages go up by 70%

EPI Wage Calculator

Eliminating the gender and inequality wage gap would raise women’s wages by 69%: Median hourly wages for men and women, compared with wages for all workers had they increased in tandem with productivity, 1979–2017

Year	Wages for all workers	Men’s wages	Women’s wages	Wages for all workers had they grown in tandem with productivity
1979	$16.71	$21.00	$13.10	$16.71
1980	$16.63	$20.68	$13.04	$16.58
1981	$16.18	$20.18	$12.95	$16.94
1982	$16.28	$19.95	$13.03	$16.69
1983	$16.26	$19.85	$13.20	$17.19
1984	$16.24	$19.79	$13.37	$17.64
1985	$16.34	$19.75	$13.43	$17.94
1986	$16.81	$20.36	$13.71	$18.30
1987	$16.66	$20.42	$14.11	$18.39
1988	$16.65	$19.88	$14.11	$18.61
1989	$16.60	$19.21	$14.18	$18.76
1990	$16.39	$18.74	$14.09	$19.03
1991	$16.48	$18.67	$14.15	$19.15
1992	$16.53	$18.72	$14.30	$19.87
1993	$16.60	$18.48	$14.50	$19.94
1994	$16.34	$18.27	$14.45	$20.09
1995	$16.11	$18.52	$14.33	$20.18
1996	$16.19	$18.55	$14.34	$20.57
1997	$16.60	$18.46	$14.63	$20.92
1998	$17.05	$19.29	$15.04	$21.34
1999	$17.56	$19.76	$15.24	$21.91
2000	$17.41	$19.86	$15.55	$22.39
2001	$17.87	$20.11	$15.84	$22.73
2002	$17.87	$20.32	$16.26	$23.37
2003	$18.15	$20.01	$16.14	$24.14
2004	$18.15	$19.83	$16.22	$24.78
2005	$17.99	$19.59	$16.16	$25.22
2006	$18.11	$19.56	$16.11	$25.36
2007	$17.80	$19.86	$16.24	$25.53
2008	$17.90	$19.72	$16.40	$25.59
2009	$18.25	$20.42	$16.60	$26.12
2010	$17.99	$19.73	$16.46	$26.89
2011	$17.50	$19.24	$16.28	$26.93
2012	$17.40	$19.23	$15.97	$27.08
2013	$17.54	$19.01	$15.85	$27.16
2014	$17.47	$19.04	$15.65	$27.36
2015	$17.70	$19.59	$16.21	$27.58
2016	$18.24	$19.74	$16.42	$27.59
2017	$18.28	$19.97	$16.79	$27.85

ChartData Download data

Source: Reproduced from Figure G in Alyssa Davis and Elise Gould, Closing the Pay Gap and Beyond:
A Comprehensive Strategy for Improving Economic Security for Women and Families, EPI Briefing Paper #412, November 18, 2015

Reduce Poverty

Simulated change in 2013 market-based poverty rate if wages had increased at same rate as productivity growth over 1979–2013 and if the economy were at full employment in 2013

		Percentage point reduction by growing wages with average wage growth
Non-<br>elderly	100% of poverty	-4.188
Age 18–64	Male	-3.14
	Female	-3.904
	White	-2.373
	Black	-5.445
	Hispanic	-6.722
Children (under 18)	All children	-5.937
	White	-3.384
	Black	-8.332
	Hispanic	-10.279

ChartData Download data

Note: The simulation assumes that wages increased in tandem with growth in "usable" productivity. See the technical appendix for details.

Source: EPI analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) microdata

Increase incomes

The U.S. middle class had $17,867 less income in 2007 because of the growth of inequality since 1979: Household income of the broad middle class, actual and projected assuming no growth in inequality, 1979–2011

	Actual	Projected
1979/01/01	$61,542.17	$61,542.17
1980/01/01	$59,460.37	$59,579.37
1981/01/01	$59,210.54	$59,456.53
1982/01/01	$58,036.98	$59,071.83
1983/01/01	$57,202.97	$59,479.82
1984/01/01	$60,446.87	$62,779.71
1985/01/01	$60,428.61	$63,811.15
1986/01/01	$62,282.04	$68,495.45
1987/01/01	$61,406.97	$66,243.89
1988/01/01	$62,294.60	$69,102.25
1989/01/01	$63,153.24	$69,773.54
1990/01/01	$63,356.58	$69,050.00
1991/01/01	$62,372.76	$67,405.82
1992/01/01	$62,736.36	$69,303.97
1993/01/01	$63,537.30	$69,703.89
1994/01/01	$63,937.79	$70,532.26
1995/01/01	$65,895.09	$73,271.98
1996/01/01	$66,618.03	$75,655.23
1997/01/01	$67,717.28	$78,559.19
1998/01/01	$70,025.47	$82,314.50
1999/01/01	$71,827.31	$85,754.07
2000/01/01	$71,685.32	$87,083.66
2001/01/01	$71,738.64	$82,561.12
2002/01/01	$70,107.92	$79,126.24
2003/01/01	$70,232.82	$80,397.74
2004/01/01	$72,563.23	$85,031.93
2005/01/01	$73,700.24	$89,259.28
2006/01/01	$74,417.13	$91,994.00
2007/01/01	$76,442.90	$94,310.00
2008/01/01	$73,539.98	$86,971.41
2009/01/01	$72,708.64	$82,490.43
2010/01/01	$72,875.68	$84,737.13
2011/01/01	$72,036.33	$83,665.79

ChartData Download data

Note: Data show average income of households in the middle three-fifths.

Source: EPI analysis of data from The Distribution of Household Income and Federal Taxes, 2011, the Congressional Budget Office, 2014.

Reproduced from Figure I in Raising America’s Pay: Why It’s Our Central Economic Policy Challenge, by Josh Bivens, Elise Gould, Lawrence Mishel, and Heidi Shierholz, Economic Policy Institute, 2014.

Presentation: The Politics of Health Policy

The Politics of Health Policy

Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Economic Inequality

Growing economic inequality is rooted in wage inequality

Why did this happen? What can we do about this?

What can happen if we do raise wages?

Average annual family income growth, by income group, 1947–2016

Change in real annual average household income, by income group, 1979–2013

Share of total wealth growth accruing to various wealth groups, 1983–2010

A typical white family has 10x the wealth of a typical black family: Median household wealth (for families with wealth greater than zero) and share of households with zero or negative net wealth , by race and ethnicity, 2016 (2016 dollars)

Life expectancy for male Social Security-covered workers (age 60) by earnings group, 1972–2001

Life expectancy, by year of birth, gender, and wealth decile

Intergenerational mobility and income inequality in 22 countries

Probability that sons of fathers in the bottom 20 percent of the earnings distribution end up in the bottom or top 40 percent as adults, by country

Poverty rate, actual and simulated, 1959–2016

Impact on poverty rate of economic, demographic, and education changes, 1979–2013

Non-elderly poverty rates, market-based and post-tax, post-transfer, 1989, 2007, 2013

Growing economic inequality is rooted in wage inequality

Productivity growth and hourly compensation growth, 1948–2016

Cumulative percent change in real annual wages, by wage group, 1979–2016

Cumulative change in real hourly wages of all workers, by wage percentile, 1979–2017

The gender wage gap is largest among top earners: Women’s hourly wages as a share of men’s at various wage percentiles, 1979–2017

Hourly wages of Hispanic workers as a percent of white hourly wages, at the 10th, 50th, and 95th wage percentiles, 1979–2017

Hourly wages of black workers as a percent of white hourly wages, at the 10th, 50th, and 95th wage percentiles, 1979–2017

Women earn less than men at every education level: Average hourly wages, by gender and education, 2017

The gender wage gap is real: Median hourly wages, by gender, 1979–2017

Wages have stagnated for most young graduates since 2000: Real average hourly wages of young workers, by education and gender, 1989–2017*

Among those with a high school degree, wages have stagnated since 2000 for young workers and workers overall: Real average hourly wages of workers with a high school degree, by age, 1989–2017*

Among those with a bachelor's degree, wages have stagnated since 2000 for young workers and workers overall: Real average hourly wages of workers with a bachelor's degree, by age, 1989–2017*

Share of private-sector workers with employer-provided health insurance, by race and ethnicity, 1979–2016

Share of private-sector workers with employer-provided pension coverage, by educational attainment, 1979–2016

Why did this happen?

What can we do about this?

CEO Pay

CEOs make 271 times more than typical workers: CEO-to-worker compensation ratio, 1965–2016

Minimum Wage

The federal minimum wage would be much higher if it had kept up with a growing economy

Unions

Union membership and share of income going to the top 10 percent, 1917–2015

Median hourly compensation growth is lower in states where collective bargaining coverage declined the most, 1979–2012

Private-sector unionization has declined as a direct result of anti-union policies: Union coverage rates by sector, 1973–2016

Overtime

Share of full-time salary workforce who earn less than the federal overtime salary threshold, 1975--2016

Federal Reserve: prioritize full employment

Reducing unemployment would disproportionately boost low- and moderate-wage workers' wages: Effect on hourly wages of a one-point decline in unemployment rate, by decile and gender

NAIRU versus actual unemployment rate, 1949–2014

What can happen if we do raise wages?

What should you be making?

Women’s wages go up by 70%

Eliminating the gender and inequality wage gap would raise women’s wages by 69%: Median hourly wages for men and women, compared with wages for all workers had they increased in tandem with productivity, 1979–2017

Reduce Poverty

Simulated change in 2013 market-based poverty rate if wages had increased at same rate as productivity growth over 1979–2013 and if the economy were at full employment in 2013

Increase incomes

The U.S. middle class had $17,867 less income in 2007 because of the growth of inequality since 1979: Household income of the broad middle class, actual and projected assuming no growth in inequality, 1979–2011

Thank you!

Get this presentation at go.epi.org/jhu2018