Real Earnings, Health Insurance and Pension Coverage, and the Distribution of Earnings, 1979-2006

Congressional research reportApr 28, 2008

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Order Code RL34469

Real Earnings, Health Insurance and Pension

Coverage, and the Distribution

of Earnings, 1979-2006

April 28, 2008

Gerald Mayer

Analyst in Public Finance

Domestic Social Policy Division

Real Earnings, Health Insurance and Pension

Coverage, and the Distribution of Earnings, 1979-2006

Summary

From 1979 to 2006, there were differences between men and women in the level

and growth in real earnings (i.e., actual earnings adjusted for inflation) and in

employment-based health insurance and pension coverage. The pattern of earnings

and benefit coverage also differed between all employed persons and workers

employed full-time, year-round.

All Workers. From 1979 to 2006, average real weekly earnings for all workers

increased by 23.7%. Earnings increased at all earnings levels. Workers with higher

earnings were more likely to have employment-based health insurance and pension

coverage. From 1979 to 2006, participation in an employer or union pension plan

increased for lower-wage workers but decreased for workers with higher earnings.

From 1987 to 2006, health insurance coverage fell for workers at all earnings levels.

From 1979 to 2006, the earnings gap between men and women narrowed. The

earnings of men at the 20th, 40th, and 60th percentiles were relatively unchanged, while

the earnings of women increased at all earnings levels. Except at the lowest quintile,

the participation of men in an employer or union pension plan declined. Except at

the top quintile, the participation of women in a pension plan increased. The

percentage of men and women with employment-based health insurance coverage

declined at all earnings levels. The decline was greatest among lower-wage workers

and greater among men than women. Thus, men at the 20th, 40th, and 60th percentiles

did not experience an increase in earnings and lost both pension and health insurance

coverage. For women, the increase in earnings at the 20th, 40th, and 60th percentiles

and improved participation in an employer or union pension plan were offset, to

some degree, by a decline in health insurance coverage.

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers. From 1979 to 2006, the percentage of

workers employed full-time, year-round increased from 56.4% to 68.5% of all

workers. The real weekly earnings of full-time, year-round workers increased by

15.4%. Earnings rose at all earnings levels. The increase was greatest (32.5%) at the

95th percentile. The earnings of men at the 20th and 40th percentiles fell by almost

10%, while the earnings of women increased at all earnings levels. Except for men

with the highest earnings (i.e., top 5%), pension coverage fell for both men and

women. Employment-based health insurance coverage also fell for both men and

women. The decline was greatest among lower-wage workers and greater for lowerwage men than women. Thus, lower-wage men who worked full-time, year-round

experienced both a decrease in earnings and a decline in pension and health insurance

coverage. Despite improved earnings, women who were employed full-time, yearround lost both pension and health insurance coverage.

Finally, inequality among all workers increased from 1979 to 2006. Inequality

generally increased from 1980 to 1986, declined slightly from 1986 to 1992, rose

again from 1992 to 1994, fell from 1995 to about 1999, and increased from about

1999 to 2005. Overall inequality decreased from 2005 to 2006, but it increased

among women and decreased among men. This report will be updated periodically.

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Organization of Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

The Definition of Earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Summary of Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

All Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Policies to Increase Real Earnings

or Reduce Inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Real Earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Productivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Economic Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Indirect Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Direct Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Tradeoff with Economic Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Macroeconomic Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Trend in Real Weekly Earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

All Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Fringe Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Employment-Based Health Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

All Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Employer- or Union-Provided Pension Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

All Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

The Distribution of Weekly Earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Topcoded Earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Gini Coefficient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

All Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

The Share of Total Weekly Earnings by Quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

All Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Reasons for Changes in the Share of Total Weekly Earnings

by Quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Appendix: Measures of Inequality, Data, and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Measures of Inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Gini Coefficient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Share of Total Earnings by Quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Data Source and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

CPI-U-RS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Topcoded Earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Confidence Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Data Used in Text and Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

List of Figures

Figure 1. Percentage of Full-Time Workers and Full-Time,

Year-Round Workers, 1979-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Figure 2. Real Weekly Earnings, All Workers, 1979-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Figure 3. Real Weekly Earnings, All Male Workers, 1979-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Figure 4. Real Weekly Earnings, All Female Workers, 1979-2006 . . . . . . . . . . 11

Figure 5. Real Weekly Earnings, Full-Time, Year-Round Workers,

1979-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Figure 6. Real Weekly Earnings, Male Full-Time, Year-Round Workers,

1979-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Figure 7. Real Weekly Earnings, Female Full-Time, Year-Round Workers,

1979-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Figure 8. Employment-Based Health Insurance Coverage, All Workers,

by Quintile, 1987-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Figure 9. Employment-Based Health Insurance Coverage, Full-Time,

Year-Round Workers, by Quintile, 1987-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Figure 10. Participation in an Employer- or Union-Provided Pension Plan,

All Workers, by Quintile, 1979-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Figure 11. Participation in an Employer- or Union-Provided Pension Plan,

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, by Quintile, 1979-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Figure 12. Gini Coefficient, All Workers, 1979-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Figure 13. Gini Coefficient, Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 1979-2006 . . . . 22

Figure 14. Share of Total Weekly Earnings by Quintile, All Workers,

1979-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Figure 15. Share of Total Weekly Earnings by Quintile, Full-Time,

Year-Round Workers, 1979-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Figure 16. Illustration of Lorenz Curves and Gini Coefficients for

Two Groups of Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

List of Tables

Table 1a. The Trend in Real Weekly Earnings: All Workers, 1979-1994 . . . . . 31

Table 1b. The Trend in Real Weekly Earnings: All Workers, 1995-2006 . . . . . 32

Table 2a. The Trend in Real Weekly Earnings: Full-Time,

Year-Round Workers, 1979-1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Table 2b. The Trend in Real Weekly Earnings: Full-Time,

Year-Round Workers, 1995-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Table 3a. Employment-Based Health Insurance Coverage:

All Workers 1987-1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Table 3b. Employment-Based Health Insurance Coverage:

All Workers, 2000-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Table 4a. Employment-Based Health Insurance Coverage:

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 1987-1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Table 4b. Employment-Based Health Insurance Coverage:

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 2000-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Table 5a. Employer- or Union-Provided Pension Coverage:

All Workers, 1979-1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Table 5b. Employer- or Union-Provided Pension Coverage:

All Workers, 1995-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Table 6a. Employer- or Union-Provided Pension Coverage:

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 1979-1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Table 6b. Employer- or Union-Provided Pension Coverage:

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 1995-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Table 7. Gini Coefficients for All Workers and for Full-Time,

Year-Round Workers, 1979-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Table 8a. Share of Total Weekly Earnings: All Workers, 1979-1994 . . . . . . . . 45

Table 8b. Share of Total Weekly Earnings: All Workers, 1995-2006 . . . . . . . . 46

Table 9a. Share of Total Weekly Earnings: Full-Time,

Year-Round Workers, 1979-1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Table 9b. Share of Total Weekly Earnings: Full-Time,

Year-Round Workers, 1995-2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Real Earnings, Health Insurance and

Pension Coverage, and the Distribution

of Earnings, 1979-2006

Introduction

Real earnings and the distribution of earnings are indicators of a nation’s

economic well-being. Changes in the level of real earnings (i.e., actual earnings

adjusted for inflation) show how a worker’s buying power has changed over time.

Changes in the distribution of earnings show how the buying power of different

workers has changed over time.

Real earnings and the distribution of earnings affect several public policy issues.

For example, increased real earnings can expand the Social Security taxable wage

base, which can reduce the future need for higher Social Security payroll taxes or cuts

in benefits. Higher real earnings can also help pay for future Medicare benefits.

Conversely, lower real earnings can make it more difficult to finance the Social

Security and Medicare programs.

The level of real earnings can affect the national poverty rate and, therefore,

federal spending on welfare and assistance for food, housing, health care, and energy.

The federal minimum wage can affect the real earnings of lower-wage workers, as

well as the overall distribution of earnings.

In large part, real earnings depend on the amount of investment per worker —

in the form of both human capital (e.g., education and health care) and physical

capital (e.g., computers and other equipment). Investment depends on personal,

business, and government saving. Thus, federal budget deficits or surpluses can

affect the national saving rate and the amount of investment per worker.

Government spending and tax policy can also affect earnings. Federal support

for research and development can affect real earnings through the development of

new goods and services and more productive technologies. Tax policy can affect

decisions to save and invest, as well as the aftertax distribution of earnings. Policies

that affect personal saving and the availability of private pension benefits can affect

retirement income and reliance on Social Security benefits. Policies that influence

the availability of private health insurance can affect federal spending on health care.

Rules on immigration can affect both real earnings and the distribution of

earnings. An increased supply of unskilled foreign workers can lower the wages of

less-skilled U.S. workers and increase inequality. Conversely, an increased supply

of skilled foreign workers can lower the wages of skilled American workers and

reduce inequality. Similarly, trade policy can affect both real earnings and the

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distribution of earnings. Increased imports from low-wage countries can raise the

living standards of U.S. households but affect the wages of domestic workers who

produce competing goods and services. Increased exports of goods produced in the

United States can raise the wages of American workers.

Finally, differences in earnings among racial or ethnic groups or extremes in

inequality can affect popular support for major social, political, and economic

institutions.

Organization of Report

This report examines the trends in real weekly earnings and the distribution of

weekly earnings in the United States from 1979 to 2006. The report provides

separate analyses for men and women.1 The report begins with a definition of

earnings and a summary of the findings in this report. Next, the paper discusses

broad policies to increase real earnings or reduce inequality. The last part of the

report provides a detailed summary of the findings.

The report analyzes individual earnings. A study of individual income or of

family earnings or income may reach different conclusions.2 The report does not

review research on the causes of changes in real earnings or inequality.3

The Definition of Earnings

The results of an analysis of real earnings and the distribution of earnings are

affected by the definition of earnings, whose earnings are studied (e.g., all workers,

full-time workers, prime-age workers, or others), the measure of inequality, and the

time period studied.

Earnings are payments that individuals receive for their labor services.

Individuals may be paid for a period of time worked (e.g., an hourly wage or weekly

salary) or the quantity of goods or services produced (e.g., a piece rate). Earnings

In addition to real earnings and the distribution of earnings, economists also study earnings

mobility, or how the earnings of a given sample of workers change over time. Because of

mobility, the distribution of lifetime earnings may differ from the distribution of annual or

weekly earnings.

Earnings account for the largest share of individual and family income.

Hearings during the first session of the 110th Congress examined the trends and causes of

inequality. See U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Ways and Means, Hearing on the

Economy, January 23, 2007, available at [http://waysandmeans.house.gov]; U.S. Congress,

House, Committee on Education and Labor, Strengthening America’s Middle Class:

Evaluating the Economic Squeeze on America’s Families, January 31, 2007, available at

[http://edworkforce.house.gov]; U.S. Congress, House, Committee on Ways and Means, The

Challenges Facing Middle-Class Families, January 31, 2007, available at [http://waysand

means.house.gov]; and U.S. Congress, Joint Economic Committee, Ensuring Our Economic

Future by Promoting Middle-Class Prosperity, January 31, 2007, available at

[http://jec.senate.gov].

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may be defined as cash wages or as total compensation. The latter consists of cash

wages plus fringe benefits such as employer-provided health insurance, employer

contributions to a retirement plan, and paid sick leave and vacations.

The results of an analysis of individual earnings would differ from a study of

individual compensation or income or of family earnings or income.4 Many

individuals and families receive cash or in-kind benefits from sources other than

work (e.g., interest, dividends, rent, cash welfare assistance, refundable tax credits,

or in-kind benefits such as food, housing, or health care).5 Some families have more

wage earners than other families.

This report analyzes individual weekly earnings, where earnings consist of cash

wages before taxes or other deductions. Individual earnings consist of total annual

earnings from all jobs. Weekly earnings are annual earnings divided by the number

of weeks worked. The analysis includes wage and salary workers and self-employed

workers age 16 or older. Because there are differences in the labor market

characteristics of men and women, the earnings of men and women are analyzed

separately.6 The analysis uses data from the Annual Social and Economic (ASEC)

Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a household survey

conducted by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The

annual supplement asks workers how much they earned the previous year. Thus, the

2007 supplement collected earnings information for 2006. The Appendix includes

a full explanation of the data and methodology used in this report.

Finally, the report analyzes the earnings of two groups of workers: (1) all

workers and (2) workers employed full-time, year-round. “All” workers include

persons employed either full-time or part-time as well as workers who worked either

part of the year or all year. Full-time workers are persons who work 35 or more

hours a week. Year-round workers are persons who work 50 or more weeks a year.

The distribution of earnings may change even though the distribution of total compensation

does not change; e.g., if workers choose to receive a greater or smaller share of

compensation as wages or if employers raise or lower their contributions for health

insurance or retirement benefits.

For analyses of the distribution of household income, see CRS Report RS20811, The

Distribution of Income, by Brian W. Cashell; CRS Report RL32639, Inequality in the

Distribution of Income: Trends and International Comparisons, by Brian W. Cashell; and

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Income, Poverty, and Health

Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2005, P60-231, August 2006, available at

[http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p60-231.pdf].

The results of an analysis of the distribution of earnings would differ from an analysis of

the distribution of income if income from transfer payments or from savings and investments

rise or fall. In addition, a change in nonlabor income may affect earnings (i.e., decisions to

work or how much to work).

In general, women tend to work fewer hours per week than men, spend less time in the

labor force, and enter and leave the labor force more often than men. The distribution of

women by occupation and industry also differs from men. See CRS Report 98-278, The

Gender Wage Gap and Pay Equity: Is Comparable Worth the Next Step?, by Linda Levine.

CRS-4

Analyzing the earnings of full-time, year-round workers helps control for

changes in hours worked per week, temporary and seasonal employment, and spells

of unemployment. From 1979 to 2006, the percentage of workers employed fulltime, year-round increased by 12.1 percentage points (from 56.4% in 1979 to 68.5%

in 2006). (See Figure 1.) Both the percentage of workers employed full-time and

the percentage of workers employed full-time, year-round tend to dip during

recessions. From 1979 to 2006, there were recessions from January to July 1980,

July 1981 to November 1982, July 1990 to March 1991, and March to November

2001.7

Figure 1. Percentage of Full-Time Workers and

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 1979-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Business Cycle Dates and Contractions,

available at [http://www.nber.org/cycles.html].

For a discussion of the economic recovery following the 2001 recession, see CRS

Report RL32047, The ‘Jobless Recovery’ From the 2001 Recession: A Comparison to

Earlier Recoveries and Possible Explanations, by Marc Labonte and Linda Levine.

CRS-5

Summary of Findings

All Workers

From 1979 to 2006, the average real weekly earnings (i.e., earnings

adjusted for inflation) of all workers increased by 23.7%. Real

earnings increased at all percentiles.8 The increase was greatest for

workers at the 95th percentile (37.1%). From 2001 to 2006, earnings

at the 95th percentile fell by 2.4%.

At all earnings levels, from 1979 to 2006, men earned more than

women. But the earnings gap between men and women narrowed

over the 27-year period. The earnings of women increased at all

earnings levels. But the earnings of men at the 20th, 40th, and 60th

percentiles were relatively unchanged.

Workers with higher earnings are more likely to have employmentbased health insurance coverage. The CPS has consistent

information on health insurance coverage from 1987 to the present.

From 1987 to 2006, the percentage of workers with employmentbased health insurance coverage declined at all quintiles.9 The

decrease was generally greater for lower-wage workers. During the

19-year period, insurance coverage generally declined from 1987 to

the early 1990s, then was relatively stable or increased to about

2000, and then declined again from about 2000 to 2006.

From 1987 to 2006, employment-based health insurance coverage

declined for both men and women. The decrease was greatest for

lower-wage workers. In addition, except at the lowest quintile, the

decline in coverage was greater for men than women.

Higher-wage workers are more likely to participate in an employeror union-provided pension plan. However, from 1979 to 2006,

participation in an employer or union pension plan increased for

lower-wage workers but decreased for higher-wage workers. The

improved participation among lower-wage workers was due to

increased participation among women. Participation generally

declined from the early to late 1980s, increased from the late 1980s

to about 2000, and declined from about 2000 to 2006.

As measured by the Gini coefficient, inequality increased among all

workers over the period from 1979 to 2006. Inequality increased

If workers are ranked from lowest to highest paid, workers at the 20th percentile earn more

than 20% of workers, workers at the 40th percentile earn more than 40% of workers, and

so on.

If workers are ranked from lowest to highest paid and then divided into five equal-size

groups, each group is a quintile.

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among both men and women. Over the 27-year period, inequality

generally increased from 1980 to 1986, then declined slightly from

1986 to 1992, before rising again from 1992 to 1994. Inequality

generally fell from 1995 to about 1999, and then increased again

from 1999 to 2005. Inequality decreased from 2005 to 2006, but it

increased among women and decreased among men.

During the period from 1979 to 2006, when inequality increased it

was generally because workers in the bottom four quintiles received

a smaller share of total weekly earnings, while workers in the top

quintile received a larger share. Conversely, when inequality

declined, it was generally because workers in the lower and middle

quintiles received a larger share of earnings, while workers in the top

quintile received a smaller share.

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers

From 1979 to 2006, the average real weekly earnings of full-time,

year-round workers increased by 15.4%. The earnings of lowerwage men (i.e., 20th and 40th percentiles) fell by almost 10%, while

the earnings of women at the 20th and 40th percentiles increased by

10.4% and 20.2%, respectively.

Higher earning full-time, year-round workers are more likely to be

covered by employment-based health insurance. But, from 1987 to

2006, coverage declined at all quintiles. The decrease was greatest

among lower-wage workers. The decline in coverage for lowerwage full-time, year-round workers was greater at both the

beginning and end than in the middle of the period from 1987 to

2006.

From 1987 to 2006, employment-based health insurance coverage

declined for both men and women. The decrease was greatest for

lower-wage workers. Except for the top 5% of earners, the decrease

was greater for men than women.

Higher-wage full-time, year-round workers are more likely to

participate in an employer- or union-provided pension plan. Except

for the top 5% of earners, however, participation in employer- or

union-provided pension plans declined at all quintiles. Participation

fell for both women and men. Except at the top quintile,

participation fell more among men than women. Participation

generally fell from the early to late 1980s, increased from the late

1980s to about 2000, and declined again from about 2000 to 2006.

The distribution of earnings among workers employed full-time,

year-round is more equal than the distribution of earnings among all

workers. But, from 1979 to 2006, inequality also increased among

full-time, year-round workers. Inequality increased among both men

and women. During the 27-year period, inequality generally

CRS-7

increased from 1980 to 1986, declined slightly from 1986 to 1992,

increased from 1992 to 1994, increased from 1995 to 1996, fell from

1996 to 1999, and increased again from 1999 to 2006. Although

overall inequality did not change from 2005 to 2006, it increased

among women.

Policies to Increase Real Earnings

or Reduce Inequality

A variety of policies are available to increase real earnings or reduce earnings

inequality. Policies to increase real earnings may differ from policies to reduce

inequality. In some cases, the policies may conflict. Some of the policies may have

mainly short-term effects. Other policies may require a longer-term commitment.

Real Earnings

Productivity. Real earnings rise with increased productivity. Policies to

increase productivity may include plans to raise both private and public saving,

increase capital investment per worker, expand investment in human capital (e.g.,

education, training, and health care), and encourage the development of technology.

Technological innovation may include improved equipment, the introduction of new

products, or improved methods of production, transportation, or communication.10

Economic Efficiency. Another way to increase real earnings is to improve

economic efficiency. According to standard economic theory, competitive markets

generally result in the most efficient allocation of resources, where resources consist

of individuals with different skills, capital goods (e.g., computers, machinery, and

buildings), and natural resources. A more efficient allocation of resources generally

results in greater total output and consumer satisfaction.

Economic efficiency can be improved through policies that provide consumers

with greater access to goods and services (e.g., improved infrastructure to exchange

goods and services and expanded trade) and a better allocation of labor and capital

(e.g., neutral tax policies, migration, or the deregulation of labor, product, or other

markets).

Inequality

Inequality may be reduced using either direct or indirect policies. Direct

policies include income transfer programs. Indirect policies consist of plans that

improve the income-producing human capital of lower-skilled workers (e.g.,

Improved technology may allow for greater outsourcing of both manufacturing and service

jobs, which may or may not affect the distribution of domestic earnings. See CRS Report

RL32292, Offshoring (a.k.a. Offshore Outsourcing) and Job Insecurity Among U.S.

Workers, by Linda Levine and CRS Report RL32484, Foreign Outsourcing: Economic

Implications and Policy Responses, by Craig K. Elwell.

CRS-8

education, training, or health care). Efforts to reduce inequality may involve a

tradeoff, however, with initiatives to improve economic efficiency.

Indirect Policies. Inequality can be reduced with policies that reduce the

relative supply of less-skilled labor, increase the relative supply of skilled labor, or

both. Such policies may include improved investment in preschool, grade school,

and high school education, better adult education, and improved access to health care

for lower income workers and their families. Inequality may also be reduced by

increasing the relative supply of college-educated workers; for example, proposals

to lower the cost of higher education or increase educational assistance to lower

income students. Some policies may be more cost effective than others. Immigration

policies that allow more skilled workers, fewer unskilled workers, or both, into the

country can also reduce inequality.

Direct Policies. Income inequality may also be reduced through income

redistribution programs. These programs include policies such as progressive

taxation — including refundable tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit

(EITC) or the Child Tax Credit (CTC). They also include in-kind transfers of food,

housing, and health care.

Tradeoff with Economic Efficiency. Competitive markets may allocate

resources efficiently, but they may result in significant earnings inequality. Thus,

policies that reduce inequality may involve a tradeoff with proposals to improve

economic efficiency. Some economists argue that a higher minimum wage, making

it easier for workers to unionize, or different trade policies may reduce inequality.

Other economists maintain that these policies may reduce total economic output and

may not have a significant impact on inequality. Similarly, some economists argue

that high marginal tax rates and income redistribution programs may harm economic

efficiency. For example, high tax rates may discourage saving and investment.

Transfer payments or other forms of nonlabor income may reduce the supply of labor

(i.e., they may affect decisions to work or how much to work).

Macroeconomic Policies. Fiscal and monetary policies that reduce or

maintain low unemployment may also affect the distribution of earnings. During an

economic expansion, the number of hours worked or the hourly wages of lower-wage

workers often improve relative to other workers. Fiscal policy consists of

government spending and revenue decisions. Monetary policy consists of actions by

the Federal Reserve Bank that affect money supply and interest rates.11

The Trend in Real Weekly Earnings

The remainder of this report provides a detailed description of the findings

summarized above. This section examines the trend in real weekly earnings from

1979 to 2006. Earnings are for both wage and salary workers and self-employed

workers. Nominal, or actual, earnings are adjusted for inflation using the Consumer

Price Index for All Urban Consumers, adjusted to take into account the current

Fiscal policy (i.e., budget surpluses or deficits) may also affect interest rates.

CRS-9

methods for measuring changes in prices (CPI-U-RS). An explanation of this index

is provided in the Appendix.

This section shows the trend in real weekly earnings for workers at the 20th, 40th,

60 , 80th, and 95th percentiles. If workers are ranked from lowest to highest paid,

those at the 20th percentile earn more than 20% of workers, those at the 40th percentile

earn more than 40% of workers, and so on. All of the results in this section are

shown using graphs. All data used for these graphs are provided in the Appendix.

All Workers

From 1979 to 2006, the average real weekly earnings of all employed persons

increased by 23.7%. Earnings increased for workers at all percentiles. See Figure

2.12 The increase was greatest for workers at the 95th percentile. For example, for

workers at the 20th percentile, earnings increased from $237 to $288 per week (or

21.5%). For workers at the 95th percentile, earnings increased from $1,543 to $2,115

a week (or 37.1%). However, from 2001 to 2006, the earnings of workers at the 95th

percentile fell by 2.4% (from $2,167 to $2,115).

Figure 2. Real Weekly Earnings, All Workers, 1979-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Because of changes in topcoding in the CPS that affected the change in average earnings

from 1994 to 1995, average earnings are not shown in Figure 1 or in the other figures in this

report that show trends in real weekly earnings. Since the reported change in earnings from

1994 to 1995 cannot be separated into the effects of the change in topcoding and any actual

change in earnings, in Tables 1 (a and b) and 2 (a and b) the percentage change in average

earnings from 1979 to 2006 is the sum of the changes in average earnings from 1979 to 1994

and from 1995 to 2006. See the discussion of “Topcoded Earnings” later in this report.

CRS-10

Figures 3 and 4 show two differences in the real weekly earnings of men and

women. First, at each percentile, the earnings of men were greater than the earnings

of women. For example, in 2006, men at the 20th percentile had earnings of $350 a

week, compared to $231 for women. At the 60th percentile men and women earned

$865 and $597, respectively. At the 95th percentile, men earned $2,538 a week,

compared to $1,654 a week for women.

Over the period from 1979 to 2006, average real weekly earnings increased

more for women than men (48.0% and 14.7%, respectively). The increase was

greater for women than men at all earnings levels. Thus, over the 27-year period, the

earnings gap between men and women narrowed. At the 20th, 40th, and 60th

percentiles, the increase in earnings among all workers was due almost entirely to

higher earnings among women. The earnings of men at the 20th, 40th, and 60th

percentiles were relatively unchanged. But, for women, earnings increased by 36.2%,

33.9%, and 40.2%, respectively. (See Tables 1a and 1b in the Appendix.)

Figure 3. Real Weekly Earnings,

All Male Workers, 1979-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

CRS-11

Figure 4. Real Weekly Earnings,

All Female Workers, 1979-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

The narrowing of the earnings gap between men and women may have been

caused by a number of reasons. Women’s hourly wages may have increased. They

may have worked more hours. Gains in educational attainment and work experience

may have helped narrow the gap. More women may have entered traditionally male

occupations.13

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers

From 1979 to 2006, the average real weekly earnings of full-time, year-round

workers increased by 15.4%. But the trend in real weekly earnings of workers

employed full-time, year-round differed from the pattern of earnings for all workers.

The earnings of full-time, year-round workers are higher than the

earnings of all workers. (Compare Figures 2 and 5.)

From 1979 to 2006, the earnings of workers employed full-time,

year-round increased less than the earnings of all workers. For e

xample, for full-time, year-round workers, earnings at the 20th

percentile increased by 1.2% compared to an increase of 21.5% for

all workers.

For more discussion on the reasons for the narrowing of the wage gap between men and

women, see CRS Report 98-278, The Gender Wage Gap and Pay Equity: Is Comparable

Worth the Next Step?, by Linda Levine.

CRS-12

From 1979 to 2006, the earnings of lower-wage men employed fulltime, year-round fell by almost 10%. At the 20th and 40th percentiles,

the earnings of men fell by 9.6% and 9.8%, respectively.

Figure 5. Real Weekly Earnings, Full-Time,

Year-Round Workers, 1979-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

As was the case with all workers, the average real weekly earnings of women

employed full-time, year-round increased more than the earnings of men (41.3% and

9.6%, respectively). At all percentiles, the earnings of women increased more than

the earnings of men. For example, compared to the decline in earnings among men

at the 20th and 40th percentiles, the earnings of women increased by 10.4% and

20.2%, respectively. (Compare Figures 6 and 7.)

CRS-13

Figure 6. Real Weekly Earnings, Male Full-Time,

Year-Round Workers, 1979-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Figure 7. Real Weekly Earnings, Female Full-Time,

Year-Round Workers, 1979-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

CRS-14

Fringe Benefits

Total compensation consists of wages and fringe benefits. This section

examines the trends in employment-based health insurance and pension coverage.

Employment-based coverage consists of health insurance or pension plans provided

by an employer or union. Workers who are not covered by an employment-based

health insurance plan may purchase insurance from a private insurance company, or

they may be covered by public insurance (e.g., Medicaid or Medicare). Workers may

also contribute to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA).14 This report only takes

into account employment-based health insurance and pension plans. The report does

not examine the amount that employers contribute toward fringe benefits.

For the analysis in this section, workers are divided into quintiles. Workers are

first ranked from lowest to highest paid. Workers are then divided into five equalsize groups, or quintiles. The top quintile is further divided into two groups: the top

5% of earners and the top 81% to 95% of earners.

Employment-Based Health Insurance

The CPS has consistent information on employment-based health insurance

coverage from 1987 to the present. However, because of changes in the survey, some

of the data since 1987 are not entirely comparable. For example, in 1994 the health

insurance questions in the CPS were redesigned.15 These changes resulted in higher

estimates of the number of persons with employment-based health insurance. The

reported change in health insurance coverage between 1993 to 1994 cannot be

separated into the effects of the change in the health insurance questions and any

actual change in health insurance coverage. Therefore, in Figures 8 and 9, the period

from 1987 to 2006 is separated into two subperiods: 1987 to 1993 and 1994 to 2006.

Also, in this section of the report and in Tables 3 and 4 (a and b) in the Appendix,

the changes in coverage from 1987 to 2006 are the sum of the percentage point

changes over each of the two subperiods; that is, the sum of the percentage point

change from 1987 to 1993 and the change from 1994 to 2006.16 This approach is

For information on the types of IRAs, see CRS Report RL31770, Individual Retirement

Accounts and 401(k) Plans: Early Withdrawals and Required Distributions, by Patrick

Purcell.

U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United

States: 2006, Current Population Reports, P60-233, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., August 2007,

available at [http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/p60-233.pdf], p. 58.

Other changes in the CPS may affect the comparability of health insurance data over time.

The Census Bureau has released revised data on health insurance coverage for the years

1996 to 2005. Because of these revisions, the estimated number of persons with

employment-based health insurance increased slightly. This report does not take these

revisions into account. Also, in 2000, the CPS added questions to verify that people who

answered “no” to all questions about specific types of insurance were actually uninsured.

This change also increased slightly the estimated number of persons with employment-based

health insurance. Cheryl Hill Lee and Sharon M. Stern, Health Insurance Estimates from

the U.S. Census Bureau: Background for a New Historical Series, U.S. Census Bureau,

(continued...)

CRS-15

equivalent to raising the percentage of workers with health insurance coverage in

1987 (or lowering the percentage with coverage in 2006) by the reported change in

coverage between 1993 and 1994.17

All Workers. Three features characterize the trend in employment-based health

insurance coverage from 1987 to 2006.18

Workers with higher earnings are more likely to have health

insurance. For example, in 2006, 84.6% of the top 5% of earners

had coverage, compared to 47.2% of workers in the lowest quintile.

From 1987 to 2006, the percentage of workers with coverage

declined at all quintiles.

The decline in coverage was greatest for lower-wage workers. (See

Figure 8.) For example, at the lowest quintile, the percentage of

workers with health insurance fell by 9.1 percentage points,

compared to a 5.3 percentage point decline for the top 5% of

earners.19

During the 19-year period, employment-based health insurance coverage

generally declined from 1987 to the early 1990s, was relatively stable or increased

to about 2000, and then declined again from about 2000 to 2006. For example, at the

second, third, and fourth quintiles, the percentage of workers with employment-based

health insurance declined from 1987 to 1993, increased from 1994 to 2000, and then

declined from 2000 to 2006.

From 1987 to 2006, employment-based health insurance coverage declined

among both men and women. Among men, the decline in coverage by quintile

ranged from 6.1 to 8.3 percentage points. Among women, coverage at the lowest

quintile fell by 10.1 percentage points. Otherwise, the decline in coverage ranged

from 1.4 to 4.0 percentage points. At the lowest quintile, although coverage declined

(...continued)

June 2007, at [http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/usernote/revhlth_paper.pdf], pp.

8, 16.

For additional information on health insurance issues, see CRS Report RL32237, Health

Insurance: A Primer, by Bernadette Fernandez; CRS Report RL34389, Health Insurance

Reform and the 110th Congress, by Jean Hearne; and CRS Report RS22735, Spending by

Employers on Health Insurance: A Data Brief, by Jennifer Jenson.

The analysis in this report is of employment-based health insurance coverage only. It does

not include coverage of self-employed persons. The self-employed may have private health

insurance if they purchase an individual policy or they are covered under someone else’s

policy. For more information on health insurance coverage, see CRS Report 96-891, Health

Insurance Coverage: Characteristics of the Insured and Uninsured Populations in 2006,

by Chris L. Peterson and April Grady.

Unless stated otherwise, the comparisons of percentage differences or changes discussed

in this report are significant at either the 95% or 90% confidence levels. See the Appendix

for an explanation of confidence levels.

CRS-16

for both men and women (8.1 and 10.1 percentage points, respectively), coverage

among men averaged almost 8 percentage points lower than among women. (See

Tables 3a and 3b in the Appendix.)

Figure 8. Employment-Based Health Insurance

Coverage, All Workers, by Quintile, 1987-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Note: Because of changes in the design of the health insurance questions in

1994, the percentage of workers with employment-based health insurance is

separated into two subperiods: 1987-1993 and 1994-2006.

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers. Figure 9 shows the percentage of fulltime, year-round workers with employment-based health insurance. Again, workers

with higher earnings are more likely to be covered by employment-based health

insurance. On the other hand, from 1987 to 2006, the percentage of full-time, yearround workers with employment-based health insurance declined at all quintiles. The

decline was greatest for lower-wage workers. At the lowest quintile, coverage fell

by 10.8 percentage points, compared to a 5.6 percentage point decrease among the

highest earners. As was the case with all workers, from 1987 to 2006, the decline in

coverage was greater at both the beginning and end than in the middle of the period.

From 1987 to 2006, employment-based health insurance coverage declined

among both men and women employed full-time, year-round. The decrease was

greatest for lower-wage workers. Except for the top 5% of earners, the decrease was

greater for men than women. At the lowest quintile, health insurance coverage fell

by 12.3 percentage points among men, compared to a 7.1 percentage point drop

among women. At the second quintile, the decline in coverage among men was 11.8

percentage points, compared to a 9.3 percentage point decrease among women. (See

Tables 4a and 4b in the Appendix.)

CRS-17

Figure 9. Employment-Based Health Insurance

Coverage, Full-Time, Year-Round Workers,

by Quintile, 1987-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Note: Because of changes in the design of the health insurance questions in

1994, the percentage of workers with employment-based health insurance is

separated into two subperiods: 1987-1993 and 1994-2006.

Employer- or Union-Provided Pension Plans

All Workers. Workers with higher earnings are more likely to participate in

an employer- or union-provided pension plan. In 2006, 60.9% of the top 5% of

earners were covered by such a plan, compared to 9.7% of workers in the lowest

quintile. Relative to higher-wage workers, however, participation among lower-wage

workers in an employer- or union-provided pension plan improved from 1979 to

2006.20 At the lowest quintile, participation increased by 2.4 percentage points (from

7.4% to 9.7%, rounded21), but declined by 4.0 percentage points (from 64.9% to

60.9%) among the top 5% of earners. The improved participation of lower-wage

workers was due to increased participation among women. At the lowest quintile,

The analysis in this section includes wage and salary workers in both the private and

public sectors as well as self-employed workers. Public sector and self-employed workers

are not covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA, P.L. 93406), which is the federal law that governs employer-provided pension plans. For more

information on pension plan coverage, see CRS Report RL30122, Pension Sponsorship and

Participation: Summary of Recent Trends, by Patrick Purcell.

Although coverage increased by 2.4 percentage points from 1979 to 2006, coverage

rounds to 7.4% in 1979 and 9.7% in 2006.

CRS-18

there was no change in participation among men, but a 3.5 percentage point increase

(from 5.3% to 8.8%) among women. At the second quintile, participation among

men fell by 5.6 percentage points (from 31.8% to 26.2%), but increased by 4.1

percentage points (from 18.0% to 22.1%) among women. (See Figure 10 and

Tables 5a and 5b in the Appendix.)

Although there was some variation from year-to-year, during the period from

1979 to 2006, participation in an employer or union pension plan generally declined

from the early to late 1980s, increased from the late 1980s to about 2000, and

declined again from about 2000 to 2006.

Figure 10. Participation in an Employer-or UnionProvided Pension Plan, All Workers,

by Quintile, 1979-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers. For full-time, year-round workers, the

trend in participation in an employment-based pension plan differed from the trend

for all workers.

CRS-19

Lower-wage full-time, year-round workers were more likely than all

lower-wage workers to participate in an employer or union pension

plan. At the first and second quintiles in 2006, 21.4% and 40.2% of

full-time, year-round workers were participants in an employer or

union pension plan, compared to 9.7% and 25.6% of all workers.

Among full-time, year-round workers, except for the top 5% of

earners, participation declined at all quintiles from 1979 to 2006.

Participation fell for both women and men.22 Except at the top

quintile, participation fell more among men than women. At the

lowest quintile, participation among men fell by 10.0 percentage

points from 1979 to 2006 (from 28.7% to 18.7%), compared to a 4.0

percentage point drop (from 27.3% to 23.3%) among women.

Similar to the trend among all workers, participation generally fell

from the early to late 1980s, increased from the late 1980s to about

2000, and declined again from about 2000 to 2006. (See Figure 11

and Tables 6a and 6b in the Appendix.)

Figure 11. Participation in an Employer- or UnionProvided Pension Plan, Full-Time, Year-Round

Workers, by Quintile, 1979-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

The decrease among the top 5% of male earners was not statistically significant.

CRS-20

The Distribution of Weekly Earnings

This section examines the trend in the distribution of weekly earnings from 1979

to 2006. Different measures of inequality provide different information and can lead

to different conclusions about the trend in the distribution of earnings. Most

measures identify whether inequality has changed over time or differs among groups.

But some measures may not reveal how inequality has changed or differs. This report

uses two measures of inequality: the Gini coefficient and the share of total weekly

earnings received by each quintile of workers. Together, the two measures show

whether the distribution of earnings has changed and, if so, how it changed.

Topcoded Earnings

To protect the confidentiality of survey participants, the CPS topcodes earnings.

Changes in topcoding can affect the observed trend in inequality.

In the CPS, total earnings consist of wages and salaries and earnings from farm

and nonfarm self-employment. Wages and salaries are further separated into

earnings from a worker’s longest job and “other” wage and salary earnings. In 1995,

each of the four types of earnings was topcoded at $99,999. Beginning in 1996, each

component of total earnings has been given a unique topcode. Currently, the top

code for earnings from a worker’s longest job is $200,000. The topcode for “other”

wages and salaries is $35,000. If someone’s longest job was as a wage and salary

worker, but they also have earnings from self-employment, the topcode from selfemployment is $50,000. If the self-employment is farm income, the topcode is

$25,000. Since 1996, for workers with earnings above the topcoded amounts, the

CPS reports average earnings for workers with similar characteristics.

The changes in topcoding from 1995 to 1996 can affect an analysis of

inequality. For some workers, the changes may increase the amount of earnings

reported in the CPS. For other workers, the changes may lower their reported

earnings. For example, someone who had a salary of $125,000 in both the 1995 and

1996 surveys and who had no earnings from other sources, would have higher

earnings reported in the 1996 survey. Their 1995 earnings would have been topcoded

at $99,999, while the 1996 survey would have reported their actual earnings of

$125,000.23 If this same person also had $75,000 of self-employment income from

farming, the 1995 survey would have included all of their farm income (because all

earnings variables were topcoded at $99,999). In the 1996 survey, their farm selfemployment income would have been topcoded at $25,000. Thus, their total

earnings, as reported by the CPS, may have been lower in 1996 than in 1995 (i.e.,

$150,000 versus $174,999 — disregarding the averaging of earnings that are above

the topcoded amounts).

In the 1996 CPS, earnings from a worker’s longest job were topcoded at $150,000. U.S.

Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics, Differences Between the March 1995 and

March 1996 Annual Demographic Files, available at [http://www.bls.census.gov/cps/ads/

1996/sfiledif.htm].

CRS-21

Because of the effect that changes in topcoding can have on the analysis of

inequality, in this section the graphical representation of the Gini coefficient is

separated into two periods: 1979 to 1994 and 1995 to 2006. (Recall that the ASEC

Supplement asks workers how much they earned the previous year.) In the graphs

of the share of earnings received by quintile, the top 5% of workers are also separated

into two periods. But the change in topcoding can also affect other workers. In the

graphs below, the share of earnings received by workers in the 81st to 95th percentiles

appears to fall between 1994 and 1995. In part, this may be due to changes in

topcoding that reduced the amount of total earnings reported by some workers in the

CPS.

Gini Coefficient

The Gini coefficient is a measure of earnings equality that ranges from 0 to 1.

If the earnings of all individuals are the same, the Gini coefficient is equal to 0,

representing complete equality. If one worker receives all the earnings and all other

workers receive zero earnings, the Gini coefficient is equal to 1. Thus, a larger

coefficient indicates a greater degree of inequality. More information on the Gini

coefficient is provided in the Appendix.

All Workers. Inequality increased among all workers over the period from

1979 to 2006. Inequality also increased among both men and women. Over the 27year period, however, there were periods when inequality went up and periods when

it went down. In general, inequality increased from 1980 to 1986, then declined

slightly from 1986 to 1992, before rising again from 1992 to 1994. Inequality fell

from 1995 to about 1999 and then increased again from about 1999 to 2005.

Inequality fell from 2005 to 2006. Within this overall pattern, there were some yearto-year variations in the trend in inequality. (See Figure 12.)

Except for the periods from 1986 to 1992 and 2005 to 2006, the pattern of

inequality from 1979 to 2006 was generally the same for both men and women.

From 1986 to 1992, overall inequality declined slightly. But, among women and

men, the changes in the Gini coefficient were not statistically significant, indicating

that inequality among men and among women did not change. One explanation for

this difference is that the narrowing in the gap in earnings between men and women

reduced overall inequality, while the distribution of earnings among men and the

distribution of earnings among women were unchanged. Although overall inequality

decreased from 2005 to 2006, it increased among women and decreased among men.

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers. The distribution of earnings among

workers employed full-time, year-round is more equal than the distribution of

earnings among all workers. Nevertheless, from 1979 to 2006, inequality also

increased among full-time, year-round workers. Inequality increased among both

men and women. (See Figure 13.)

CRS-22

Figure 12. Gini Coefficient, All Workers, 1979-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Note: Because of changes in topcoding from 1994 to 1995, the Gini

coefficient is separated into two subperiods: 1979-1994 and 1995-2006.

Figure 13. Gini Coefficient, Full-Time, Year-Round

Workers, 1979-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Note: Because of changes in topcoding from 1994 to 1995, the Gini

coefficient is separated into two subperiods: 1979-1994 and 1995-2006.

CRS-23

During the 27-year period from 1979 to 2006, the pattern of inequality among

full-time, year-round workers was similar to the pattern among all workers.

Inequality generally increased from 1980 to 1986, declined somewhat from 1986 to

1992, increased from 1992 to 1994, increased from 1995 to 1996, fell from 1996 to

1999, and then increased again from 1999 to 2006. The change in the Gini

coefficient from 2005 to 2006 was not statistically significant. But inequality

increased among women and was unchanged among men.

For men and women, separately, the change in inequality from 1986 to 1992

differed from the overall pattern of inequality for all full-time, year-round workers.

Although inequality declined among all full-time, year-round workers, it increased

among women but was unchanged among men.24 One explanation for this difference

is that, while the distribution of earnings among women became more unequal, the

narrowing of the gap in earnings between men and women resulted in less inequality

in the overall distribution of earnings.

The Share of Total Weekly Earnings by Quintile

The Gini coefficient shows whether the distribution of earnings has changed

over time, but it does not show where the distribution may have changed. To

examine where the earnings distribution may have changed, this section examines the

share of total weekly earnings received by each quintile of workers.

All Workers. An analysis of the share of total weekly earnings by quintile

shows that inequality was greater in 2006 than in 1979. During the 27-year period,

there were shorter-term periods of either rising or falling inequality. When inequality

increased during the 27-year period, it was generally because workers in the bottom

four quintiles received a smaller share of total weekly earnings, while workers in the

top quintile received a larger share. Conversely, when inequality declined during the

27-year period, it was generally because workers in the lower and middle quintiles

received a larger share of earnings, while workers in the top quintile received a

smaller share. (See Figure 14.)

The Gini coefficient showed that inequality increased from 1980 to 1986.

During this period, the share of total earnings going to the bottom four quintiles

declined, while the share going to the top quintile increased. The share of total

weekly earnings received by the top 5% of earners increased by 2.1 percentage points

(from 16.6% to 18.7%). Similarly, the Gini coefficient showed that inequality

declined from 1995 to 1999 and increased from 1999 to 2006. From 1995 to 1999,

the share of earnings received by the first four quintiles increased and then, except

for the lowest quintile, decreased from 1999 to 2006. The share of earnings received

by the top 5% of earners fell by 2.8 percentage points (from 29.0% to 22.1%,

rounded) from 1995 to 1999 and then rose by 2.8 percentage points (from 22.1% to

24.9%) from 1999 to 2006.

Among women, the decrease in the Gini coefficient from 1995 to 1999 was not

statistically significant.

CRS-24

Figure 14. Share of Total Weekly Earnings by Quintile,

All Workers, 1979-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Note: Because of changes in topcoding from 1994 to 1995, the share of

earnings received by the top 5% of earners is separated into two subperiods:

1979-1994 and 1995-2006. Changes in topcoding may also affect the share

of earnings received by workers in the 81st to 95th percentiles.

Changes in the share of earnings received by men and women generally

followed the same pattern as the trend for all workers. For example, from 1999 to

2006, the share of earnings received by the top 5% of male and female workers

increased by 3.3 and 2.6 percentage points, respectively (from 22.0% to 25.3% and

19.8% to 22.5%, rounded). (See Tables 8a and 8b in the Appendix.)

Full-Time, Year-Round Workers. Inequality increased among full-time,

year-round workers from 1979 to 2006. Similar to the pattern among all workers,

when inequality increased among full-time, year-round workers, the share of earnings

received by the bottom four quintiles decreased, while the share received by the top

quintile increased. Conversely, when inequality fell, the opposite happened. This

was the pattern for both men and women who worked full-time, year-round. (See

Figure 15.)

Reasons for Changes in the Share of Total Weekly Earnings by

Quintile. The share of earnings received by workers at each quintile may change

for many reasons. The relative number of hours worked may change and relative

earnings per hour may change. As discussed at the beginning of this report, both the

percentage of workers employed full-time and the percentage of workers employed

full-time, year-round tend to fall during recessions. During an economic expansion,

CRS-25

as the demand for labor increases, both hours worked and earnings per hour often

rise, especially among lower-wage workers.25 For example, the data on real weekly

earnings in Tables 1a and 1b in the Appendix show that, when inequality fell from

1995 to 1999, the real weekly earnings for workers at the 20th percentile increased by

12.3%, compared to a 12.6% increase for workers at the 95th percentile. Conversely,

when inequality increased from 1980 to 1986, earnings at the 20th percentile fell by

4.2%, but increased by 11.3% at the 95th percentile.

Figure 15. Share of Total Weekly Earnings by

Quintile, Full-Time, Year-Round Workers,

1979-2006

Source: CRS analysis of data from the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Note: Because of changes in topcoding from 1994 to 1995, the share of

earnings received by the top 5% of earners is separated into two subperiods:

1979-1994 and 1995-2006. Changes in topcoding may also affect the share

of earnings received by workers in the 81st to 95th percentiles.

Several other factors may also affect relative earnings. The supply of and

demand for workers with different skills may change. Changes in consumer tastes

or technology may affect the demand for labor. Social and demographic changes

may affect the supply of labor. Changes in wages may affect both the demand for

and the supply of labor. Congress may enact policies that affect earnings. For

example, during the period from 1979 to 2006, Congress passed three laws that

During an economic expansion, in order to hire more workers, employers may offer higher

wages. Employers may also ask workers to work, or require, more overtime. Both of these

changes would increase total weekly earnings.

CRS-26

raised the basic federal minimum wage.26 Following welfare reform in 1996, the

employment of single mothers increased significantly.27 Regulatory changes or

changes in trade policy may affect earnings. U.S. firms may engage in greater

outsourcing. Foreign companies may increase production in the United States. Each

of these changes may affect the distribution of workers in different occupations and

industries. For example, the decline in manufacturing employment in the United

States since 1979 (when employment peaked at 19.4 million) may have affected both

wages and fringe benefits.28 Union membership in the United States, which also

peaked in 1979 (at 21.0 million), may also have affected earnings and fringe

benefits.29 Separating the effect of each of these (and other) factors on earnings and

fringe benefits is difficult, however. In addition, economists may not agree on the

effects of each factor.

The first law (P.L. 95-151) raised the minimum wage in January 1979, January 1980, and

January 1981. The second law (P.L. 101-157) raised the wage in April 1990 and April 1991.

The third law (P.L. 104-188) raised the wage in October 1996 and September 1997. In

2007, Congress enacted P.L. 110-28, which raised the minimum wage, in steps, beginning

in July 2007. The current minimum wage is $5.85 an hour. It is scheduled to rise to $6.55

an hour in July 2008 and $7.25 an hour in July 2009. CRS Report RL33754, Minimum

Wage in the 110th Congress, by William G. Whittaker.

Among other things, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation

Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193) set a time limit on cash welfare assistance and imposed greater

work requirements on welfare recipients. CRS Report RL32760, Temporary Assistance for

Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: Responses to Frequently Asked Questions, by Gene

Falk.

From 1979 to 2006, employment in manufacturing in the United States fell from 19.4

million to 14.2 million, a decrease from 21.6% to 10.4% of total nonfarm employment. U.S.

Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment, Hours, and Earnings from

the Current Employment Statistics Survey, available at [stats.bls.gov/ces/home.htm].

Research has concluded that union workers generally earn more than nonunion workers.

CRS Report RL32553, Union Membership Trends in the United States, by Gerald Mayer.

CRS-27

Appendix: Measures of Inequality,

Data, and Methodology

This Appendix provides a brief explanation of the measures of inequality used

in this report. It also describes the source of data and the methodology used in the

report. The second part of the Appendix shows the data used in the text and graphs

in the report.

Measures of Inequality

This report uses two measures of inequality: the Gini coefficient and the share

of earnings received by each quintile of workers.

Gini Coefficient. The Gini coefficient is calculated using the following

formula:

where fi is the proportion of earners in interval I and pi is the proportion of total

earnings received by earners in interval I and all lower intervals.30

Graphically, the Gini coefficient is illustrated in Figure 16. The horizontal axis

shows the percent of all earners; the vertical axis shows the percent of earnings

received by all earners. The diagonal line represents total earnings equality. For

example, on the diagonal line, 25% of earners receive 25% of earnings, 50% of

earners receive 50% of earnings, and so on.

In Figure 16 the two dotted lines — called Lorenz curves — illustrate two

possible earnings distributions. The Gini coefficient is the ratio of (a) the area

between the diagonal line and the Lorenz curve and (b) the total area under the

diagonal line. Figure 16 illustrates the distribution of earnings for two groups of

workers (or the same group of workers at different times). The distribution of

earnings for the first group (where the Gini coefficient is .163) is more equal than the

distribution of earnings for the second group (where the Gini coefficient is .289). For

the first group of workers, the bottom 60% of workers receive half of all earnings;

the top 40% receive the other half of earnings. In the second group, the bottom 70%

of earners receive half of all earnings; the top 30% receive the other half.

U.S. Bureau of the Census, Studies in the Distribution of Income, Series P60-183, 1992,

p. 60.

CRS-28

Share of Total Earnings by Quintile. To calculate the share of earnings

received by each quintile of earners, workers are first ranked from lowest to highest

paid. Workers are then divided into five equal-size groups, or quintiles. The total

earnings received by each quintile is divided by the total earnings of all workers. If

everyone’s earnings were the same, each quintile would receive one-fifth of all

earnings. The greater the share of earnings received by the highest paid workers (i.e.,

the top quintile) or the smaller the share of earnings received by the lowest paid

workers (i.e., the lowest quintile) the greater the degree of inequality. In this report,

the top quintile of earners is further separated into two groups: the top 5% of earners

and the top 81% to 95% of earners.

Data Source and Methodology

The analysis in this report uses data from the March Current Population Survey

(CPS). The CPS is a household survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census

for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor. The

monthly CPS is the main source of labor force data for the nation, including

estimates of the monthly unemployment rate. The CPS collects a wide range of

demographic, social, and labor market information.

Figure 16. Illustration of Lorenz Curves and Gini

Coefficients for Two Groups of Workers

Source: Illustration created by CRS.

CRS-29

The Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement to the monthly CPS asks

additional questions about individual earnings for the previous year. The sample is

representative of the civilian noninstitutional population of the United States. The

sample for the supplement includes members of the Armed Forces living in civilian

housing units on a military base or in a household not on a military base. The sample

does not include persons living in institutions (such as mental hospitals, nursing

homes, or correctional facilities). The 2007 supplement interviewed about 76,100

households.31

The annual ASEC Supplement to the CPS collects earnings information for both

wage and salary workers and self-employed persons. Some workers may have both

wage and salary income and self-employment income. In addition, self-employed

persons may have both wages and income or loss from investment in their business

(e.g., in equipment, buildings, office space, materials, supplies, and other kinds of

capital). Since wages cannot be negative, this report uses positive earnings only; i.e.,

it excludes persons whose investment losses were greater than their wage. But this

approach may include investment losses if a person combines their wage and

investment loss and their wage is greater than their investment loss. The approach

may also include investment income, if a person reports his or her earnings as the

total of their wage and investment income. Excluding persons with negative earnings

has little or no effect on the real earnings by percentile shown in this report.

Including persons with negative earnings increases the level of inequality, but has

little or no effect on the trend in inequality.

In Tables 1 and 2 (a and b), comparisons of real earnings between consecutive

years should be made with caution. When answering the question about annual

earnings, some respondents may round off their earnings. For example, many people

may report that they earn $50,000 a year, when they earn either more or less than

$50,000. From one year to the next, this rounding may affect the observed trend in

real weekly earnings.

CPI-U-RS. In this report, nominal weekly earnings were adjusted for inflation

using the CPI-U-RS (the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers Research

Series).

Over the years, BLS has introduced a number of changes in the way it measures

changes in prices. Each improvement is intended to make the CPI-U more accurate.

But the historical CPI-U is not adjusted to take the improvements into account. The

CPI-U-RS adjusts the historical CPI-U (starting in 1978) to take into account most

of the improvements made in measuring price changes. The CPI-U-RS shows what

the CPI-U would have been if current methods had been used to measure inflation.

Compared to the CPI-U, the CPI-U-RS provides a more consistent measure of

U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2007 Annual Social and Economic

(ASEC) Supplement, available at [http://www.census.gov/apsd/techdoc/cps/cpsmar07.pdf],

pp. 1-1, 9-3, G-2.

CRS-30

inflation.32 From 1979 to 2006, the CPI-U-RS increased by 258.8%. The CPI-U

increased by 277.7%.

Topcoded Earnings. In the ASEC Supplement, if a person’s annual earnings

exceed a certain amount, the individual’s actual earnings are not reported. Instead,

BLS reports the average earnings of those persons whose earnings are above the

topcoded amount. For 2006 (i.e., the 2007 ASEC), annual earnings from a person’s

longest job were topcoded at $200,000, or $3,846.15 a week. BLS averages earnings

for several groups of workers, based on gender, race, Hispanic origin, and work

experience. For example, BLS calculates average earnings for all white, nonHispanic men who work full-time, year-round and whose earnings for their longest

held job were over $200,000. To arrive at total annual earnings, this amount is added

to any earnings from other employment (e.g., a person may have held more than one

job during the year).

In this report, topcoding may affect the measures of inequality in two ways.

First, because of topcoding, the Gini coefficient may understate the degree of

inequality. Topcoding should have less of an effect on the estimates of real weekly

earnings or the estimates of the share of total weekly earnings by quintile. Second,

as discussed in the text of this report, because of changes in topcoding in 1996

(affecting yearly earnings for 1995), the observed trend in inequality may not be

comparable for years 1994 and earlier and years 1995 and later.

Confidence Levels. Estimates based on survey responses from a sample of

households have two kinds of error: nonsampling and sampling. Examples of

nonsampling error include information that is misreported and errors made in

processing collected information. Sampling error occurs because a sample, and not

the entire population, of households is surveyed. The difference between an estimate

based on a sample of households and the actual population value is known as

sampling error. When using sample data, researchers typically construct confidence

intervals around population estimates. Confidence intervals provide information

about the accuracy of estimated values. With a 95% confidence interval and repeated

samples from a population, 95% of intervals will include the average estimate of a

population characteristic.

Data Used in Text and Graphs

The remainder of this Appendix provides the data used in the text and graphs

in this report.

Stewart, Kenneth J, and Stephen B. Reed, “Consumer Price Index Research Series Using

Current Methods, 1978-98,” Monthly Labor Review, vol. 122, June 1999, p. 29.

CRS-31

Table 1a. The Trend in Real Weekly Earnings: All Workers, 1979-1994

Earnings

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

Average Earnings

20th Percentile

40th Percentile

60th Percentile

80th Percentile

95th Percentile

$631

237

414

621

946

1,543

$615

233

404

609

923

1,517

$612

219

407

608

912

1,483

$614

216

391

600

926

1,543

$615

216

387

594

925

1,535

$625

213

391

604

924

1,590

$638

220

410

619

962

1,608

Average Earnings

20th Percentile

40th Percentile

60th Percentile

80th Percentile

95th Percentile

$801

343

597

846

1,145

1,842

$775

330

566

815

1,120

1,792

$774

319

545

818

1,106

1,796

$772

301

540

780

1,123

1,852

$771

296

536

777

1,110

1,850

$783

294

533

809

1,137

1,848

$796

302

536

822

1,168

1,890

Average Earnings

20th Percentile

40th Percentile

60th Percentile

80th Percentile

95th Percentile

$415

169

299

426

597

936

$414

171

296

427

599

932

$410

164

292

417

614

941

$418

163

293

424

617

964

$426

161

296

444

631

999

$436

164

295

437

640

1,019

$449

168

305

447

679

1,031

1986

1987

All Workers

$659

$662

223

228

405

421

641

653

995

980

1,688

1,633

Men

$827

$821

311

313

557

555

844

816

1,181

1,205

2,025

1,959

Women

$460

$475

169

170

307

323

467

483

681

712

1,097

1,143

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

$669

226

416

646

989

1,647

$679

236

425

659

1,006

1,721

$667

233

431

645

992

1,697

$665

233

416

650

976

1,666

$667

238

422

650

987

1,706

$672

233

418

655

1,004

1,726

$688

237

414

647

1,024

1,811

$830

315

567

820

1,197

2,047

$837

314

564

834

1,208

2,113

$813

312

546

805

1,168

2,013

$807

301

547

805

1,166

2,064

$801

298

542

812

1,173

2,031

$806

294

528

793

1,189

2,114

$829

310

523

796

1,216

2,199

$482

171

315

476

724

1,150

$496

181

327

489

749

1,208

$497

179

328

489

739

1,208

$501

180

333

500

750

1,222

$511

188

328

514

758

1,239

$518

185

330

515

777

1,282

$526

187

336

517

776

1,294

CRS-32

Table 1b. The Trend in Real Weekly Earnings: All Workers, 1995-2006

Earnings

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

Average Earnings

20th Percentile

40th Percentile

60th Percentile

80th Percentile

95th Percentile

$743

243

429

657

1,011

1,819

$743

246

443

664

1,009

1,846

$767

251

452

684

1,036

1,927

$798

261

475

713

1,069

1,948

$791

272

465

700

1,117

2,048

$835

281

487

721

1,126

2,049

Average Earnings

20th Percentile

40th Percentile

60th Percentile

80th Percentile

95th Percentile

$911

303

531

808

1,213

2,162

$905

308

541

806

1,230

2,215

$938

321

566

843

1,227

2,361

$965

335

594

855

1,283

2,376

$961

347

582

880

1,326

2,420

$1,025

351

585

880

1,351

2,454

Average Earnings

20th Percentile

40th Percentile

60th Percentile

80th Percentile

95th Percentile

$552

192

333

505

783

1,314

$559

197

345

517

787

1,353

$573

200

361

532

819

1,392

$609

214

371

570

831

1,433

$601

222

372

582

861

1,513

$622

225

399

585

901

1,531

2001

2002

All Workers

$848

$853

285

280

491

496

730

750

1,117

1,121

2,167

2,155

Men

$1,018 $1,038

344

345

592

603

876

862

1,314

1,345

2,519

2,586

Women

$655

$645

228

233

399

410

592

603

876

897

1,594

1,588

2003

2004

2005

2006

Percent

Change,

1979-2006

$849

275

502

738

1,138

2,108

$837

277

493

718

1,129

2,053

$852

286

497

723

1,136

2,113

$852

288

481

750

1,154

2,115

23.7% a

21.5%

16.1%

20.7%

22.0%

37.1%

$1,013

347

590

877

1,370

2,530

$1,007

347

595

862

1,334

2,556

$1,026

346

596

858

1,343

2,582

$1,013

350

577

865

1,346

2,538

14.7% a

2.0%

-3.4%

2.3%

17.6%

37.8%

$663

229

417

611

914

1,623

$644

226

411

616

907

1,601

$654

238

397

596

914

1,589

$669

231

400

597

938

1,654

48.0% a

36.2%

33.9%

40.2%

57.0%

76.7%

Source: Calculated by CRS from the Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Note: Weekly earnings are in 2006 dollars. Estimates are for persons age 16 and over.

a. Because of changes in topcoding that affected the change in average earnings between 1994 and 1995, the percent change in average real weekly earnings

from 1979 to 2006 is the sum of changes from 1979 to 1994 and 1995 to 2006.

CRS-33

Table 2a. The Trend in Real Weekly Earnings: Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 1979-1994

Percentile

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

Average Earnings $798

20th Percentile

418

40th Percentile

597

60th Percentile

796

80th Percentile

1,095

95th Percentile

1,742

$776

412

582

791

1,075

1,702

$778

409

573

777

1,064

1,668

$781

390

579

772

1,080

1,736

$778

392

558

770

1,088

1,769

$796

391

569

782

1,066

1,777

Average Earnings $931

20th Percentile

518

40th Percentile

747

60th Percentile

956

80th Percentile

1,244

95th Percentile

1,991

$904

497

717

932

1,210

1,926

$912

491

712

925

1,227

1,964

$915

478

694

926

1,235

1,967

$909

481

703

925

1,239

1,961

$932

473

711

924

1,244

2,033

Average Earnings

20th Percentile

40th Percentile

60th Percentile

80th Percentile

95th Percentile

$542

336

448

538

717

1,021

$539

327

437

552

732

1,023

$556

335

444

579

748

1,058

$564

333

444

573

740

1,110

$573

338

457

581

782

1,103

$543

348

448

548

717

995

1985

1986

1987

1988

All Full-Time, Year-Round Workers

$805

$824

$825

$827

412

405

407

409

584

607

588

598

794

810

816

819

1,100

1,148

1,143

1,134

1,752

1,856

1,828

1,890

Men

$938

$960

$958

$959

481

484

490

472

687

709

718

724

945

979

980

945

1,271

1,316

1,306

1,298

2,062

2,190

2,122

2,205

Women

$588

$606

$616

$624

344

338

343

346

464

473

490

472

601

608

620

630

806

830

820

850

1,155

1,212

1,224

1,260

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

$836

418

604

815

1,154

1,932

$812

403

575

805

1,137

1,869

$811

403

583

805

1,111

1,888

$818

406

596

812

1,137

1,895

$816

396

581

793

1,136

1,955

$826

390

592

802

1,164

2,005

$966

483

725

966

1,328

2,264

$928

460

690

920

1,294

2,157

$929

462

694

944

1,289

2,138

$934

460

677

948

1,305

2,166

$927

449

661

925

1,321

2,246

$935

445

664

915

1,294

2,328

$635

353

483

634

876

1,280

$631

345

489

633

863

1,294

$637

346

494

639

861

1,333

$649

352

495

674

882

1,354

$652

344

502

661

917

1,321

$662

342

492

647

905

1,423

CRS-34

Table 2b. The Trend in Real Weekly Earnings: Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 1995-2006

Percentile

1995

1996

1997

1998

Average Earnings

20th Percentile

40th Percentile

60th Percentile

80th Percentile

95th Percentile

$880

394

581

803

1,137

1,971

$900

398

591

807

1,179

1,969

$915

409

602

838

1,204

2,047

$934

428

618

831

1,188

2,138

Average Earnings

20th Percentile

40th Percentile

60th Percentile

80th Percentile

95th Percentile

$1,020

455

657

909

1,299

2,324

$1,036

465

664

933

1,304

2,338

$1,058

482

699

963

1,325

2,409

$1,072

475

713

950

1,394

2,376

Average Earnings

20th Percentile

40th Percentile

60th Percentile

80th Percentile

95th Percentile

$671

354

503

651

909

1,415

$699

358

492

664

914

1,476

$708

361

506

674

939

1,469

$731

356

523

713

950

1,544

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

All Full-Time, Year-Round Workers

$930

$972

$986

$983

419

428

438

431

422

625

630

635

647

632

849

856

876

862

855

1,233

1,238

1,270

1,293

1,265

2,224

2,252

2,190

2,263

2,319

Men

$1,076 $1,137 $1,135 $1,136 $1,123

475

473

482

474

485

698

702

701

711

717

977

1,000

986

970

991

1,396

1,464

1,424

1,509

1,476

2,560

2,702

2,628

2,694

2,698

Women

$723

$737

$777

$775

$787

367

374

394

388

384

524

540

548

539

548

698

702

723

733

738

968

983

989

1,026

1,054

1,609

1,576

1,643

1,681

1,708

2004

2005

2006

Percent

Change,

1979-2006

$976

423

616

854

1,232

2,258

$979

417

616

854

1,271

2,324

$984

423

615

865

1,250

2,308

15.4% a

1.2%

3.0%

8.7%

14.2%

32.5%

$1,116

472

718

985

1,437

2,669

$1,121

477

695

993

1,440

2,761

$1,114

468

673

962

1,442

2,731

9.6% a

-9.6%

-9.8%

0.6%

15.9%

37.2%

$780

390

534

718

1,026

1,724

$778

392

537

726

1,033

1,728

$800

385

538

731

1,038

1,827

41.3% a

10.4%

20.2%

33.5%

44.9%

83.5%

Source: Calculated by CRS from the Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Note: Weekly earnings are in 2006 dollars. Estimates are for persons age 16 and over.

a. Because of changes in topcoding that affected the change in average earnings between 1994 and 1995, the percent change in average real weekly earnings

from 1979 to 2006 is the sum of changes from 1979 to 1994 and 1995 to 2006.

CRS-35

Table 3a. Employment-Based Health Insurance Coverage: All Workers 1987-1999

(percent)

Percentile

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

49.2

60.0

77.6

85.6

90.4

86.3

48.8

58.6

76.6

85.8

90.3

86.6

48.4

59.3

76.2

86.5

89.3

84.4

46.5

57.3

75.1

84.5

88.4

82.7

45.4

57.6

75.1

84.8

88.2

83.4

44.1

53.4

73.6

83.3

88.1

82.3

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

43.3

61.0

79.1

88.2

89.9

86.0

42.5

58.0

79.4

87.7

90.5

85.9

42.7

58.6

79.6

87.6

89.0

83.3

40.5

57.0

75.7

85.8

88.0

82.3

38.4

57.1

75.3

85.5

88.3

82.1

36.9

52.6

73.1

84.1

86.7

83.0

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

52.3

57.9

76.3

86.4

91.2

88.1

52.0

58.3

75.3

86.4

91.0

86.5

51.1

58.6

75.3

86.8

90.8

84.7

49.4

56.1

76.3

85.5

89.4

87.2

49.7

56.2

75.6

86.6

90.4

87.4

47.4

55.3

74.2

85.2

90.4

85.3

1993

All Workers

43.6

53.9

73.8

82.1

85.6

81.9

Men

38.9

53.8

73.1

83.0

84.7

81.3

Women

45.6

54.2

73.5

84.2

87.9

84.4

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

50.7

57.7

75.6

84.9

89.8

85.4

50.3

57.9

75.1

84.9

89.3

85.5

49.7

57.6

75.4

85.6

88.8

85.5

49.9

58.6

74.9

85.4

88.8

84.0

50.2

59.2

76.3

85.3

89.4

85.6

50.2

60.2

76.7

86.3

88.7

85.8

45.3

57.4

75.4

86.6

89.4

84.3

45.3

56.8

76.2

86.0

88.6

85.1

44.2

57.9

75.3

86.5

88.4

84.3

44.1

58.5

76.6

86.5

88.4

82.5

44.7

60.2

77.5

86.5

88.7

85.8

46.6

60.4

79.0

86.7

88.8

84.2

52.8

58.4

74.7

86.8

90.9

88.1

52.4

58.3

75.5

84.8

91.6

88.1

52.5

57.0

76.4

86.3

90.6

87.2

52.2

57.6

76.4

85.5

89.8

87.5

53.0

57.9

76.7

85.6

89.7

87.5

51.3

58.3

77.4

86.4

90.1

87.3

CRS-36

Table 3b. Employment-Based Health Insurance Coverage: All Workers, 2000-2006

(percent)

Percentile

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

51.3

62.1

78.8

86.7

89.2

86.7

49.6

61.5

78.0

86.6

89.0

85.4

48.6

60.2

76.4

85.4

88.4

83.8

47.3

58.1

75.8

84.7

88.1

84.3

48.2

58.5

75.4

84.8

88.1

85.9

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

46.8

63.0

79.3

87.6

88.7

86.9

44.9

62.0

79.3

85.9

88.9

84.8

44.1

58.9

77.7

85.4

88.1

82.5

43.5

58.1

75.8

85.3

86.9

84.0

43.4

57.0

74.5

85.7

87.1

84.9

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

53.2

60.9

79.6

86.9

90.4

87.8

52.1

60.7

78.0

87.5

91.3

86.4

50.3

60.1

77.8

86.8

88.8

87.1

49.2

57.5

75.9

86.2

89.5

88.1

50.8

58.0

76.5

87.6

89.9

88.5

2005

2006

All Workers

47.2

58.0

57.8

75.5

75.1

84.8

83.8

87.4

87.5

86.4

84.6

Men

42.7

41.6

55.9

56.4

75.6

75.2

84.3

83.5

87.2

86.5

85.6

82.9

Women

49.9

49.3

58.8

59.0

77.0

76.2

86.4

85.8

89.8

90.1

87.1

88.0

Change in

Percent,

1987-1993

Change in

Percent,

1994-2000

Change in

Percent,

2000-2006

Change in

Percent,

1987-2006

-5.6

-6.2

-3.8

-3.5

-4.8

-4.4

0.7

4.4

3.2

1.8

-0.6

1.2

-4.2

-4.3

-3.7

-3.0

-1.7

-2.1

-9.1a

-6.1

-4.2

-4.6

-7.1

-5.3

-4.4

-7.2

-6.1

-5.2

-4.8

1.5

5.6

3.8

1.0

-0.7

2.6

-5.2

-6.6

-4.1

-4.0

-2.2

-3.9

-8.1

-6.3

-8.3

-8.1

-6.1

-6.7

-3.7

-2.9

-2.3

-3.2

-3.7

0.5

2.5

4.8

0.1

-0.5

-0.3

-3.9

-1.9

-3.4

-1.1

-0.2

0.2

-10.1

-3.1

-1.4

-3.3

-4.0

-3.7

Source: Calculated by CRS from the Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Notes: Estimates are for persons age 16 and over.

a. Because of changes in the CPS health insurance questions in 1994, the change shown from 1987 to 2006 is the sum of the change from 1987 to 1993 and from

1994 to 2006.

CRS-37

Table 4a. Employment-Based Health Insurance Coverage: Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 1987-1999

(percent)

Percentile

1987

1988

1989

1990

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

59.2

82.2

87.6

91.4

92.4

88.8

58.9

80.1

87.0

90.9

93.1

89.5

58.3

80.7

86.7

91.1

86.4

55.8

78.5

85.4

89.6

90.9

86.7

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

55.4

80.7

88.4

92.2

91.8

88.2

53.5

78.7

87.7

91.7

92.9

89.7

53.9

79.9

87.1

91.8

90.1

86.4

50.2

76.1

85.1

90.0

86.7

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

60.3

83.9

89.2

91.8

94.0

91.6

60.8

82.8

88.6

92.0

94.5

89.0

60.7

81.1

88.6

91.9

93.2

89.4

58.8

82.6

88.7

90.7

92.0

90.5

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

All Full-Time, Year-Round Workers

56.8

53.4

53.3

55.4

77.4

77.5

76.1

77.8

76.4

86.6

85.3

83.8

84.6

83.5

90.2

89.2

87.6

90.7

90.0

90.9

90.5

88.1

92.1

91.3

85.6

85.7

85.0

88.9

88.1

Men

51.4

48.4

48.2

50.1

52.1

76.2

74.8

73.4

74.4

73.4

84.9

84.8

82.7

84.8

83.3

90.1

89.0

87.5

90.5

89.7

90.0

88.6

86.8

91.6

90.4

86.5

86.6

84.2

88.0

88.3

Women

59.9

56.4

56.8

59.2

57.7

81.4

81.2

79.3

80.9

79.9

88.1

87.5

87.9

88.7

84.5

92.3

91.3

89.6

91.7

91.1

92.8

93.1

90.0

93.6

94.4

89.7

88.9

88.6

92.2

91.1

1996

1997

1998

1999

55.8

77.6

84.1

90.0

90.7

88.8

55.0

76.3

84.8

89.7

90.5

87.5

54.3

76.4

84.5

89.0

90.9

88.5

55.5

76.6

85.9

89.4

91.2

88.7

51.1

73.8

85.1

89.7

90.6

88.5

51.0

73.4

85.2

89.6

90.0

86.3

50.1

73.8

84.8

89.8

89.9

88.7

51.1

75.0

86.3

89.4

90.8

87.7

58.5

81.1

86.8

90.9

92.8

89.8

57.5

79.8

86.3

90.9

91.7

57.6

79.3

86.0

89.2

92.1

90.4

56.1

80.9

87.4

90.0

93.0

90.0

CRS-38

Table 4b. Employment-Based Health Insurance Coverage: Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 2000-2006

(percent)

Percentile

2000

2001

2002

2003

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

55.9

78.3

86.1

90.2

91.4

89.7

55.9

76.5

86.5

89.9

91.0

88.4

55.2

74.4

85.4

88.7

89.9

86.7

52.0

74.7

83.9

89.0

90.0

88.1

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

51.3

76.9

85.8

90.2

91.1

89.0

51.5

74.8

85.9

89.3

90.7

87.7

49.3

72.5

84.9

88.7

89.2

85.8

47.7

73.3

82.9

88.0

88.9

88.1

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

58.0

81.9

86.5

91.4

93.6

92.2

58.0

79.1

87.8

92.3

93.8

89.5

57.5

79.6

86.6

91.0

91.5

89.1

54.5

77.7

85.8

91.6

91.9

90.3

Change in

Percent,

2004

2005

2006

1987-1993

All Full-Time, Year-Round Workers

52.5

50.9

50.6

-6.0

74.0

73.8

72.7

-6.1

83.7

84.1

83.4

-3.7

89.0

88.4

87.7

-3.8

90.1

89.9

89.6

-4.3

88.2

88.7

87.1

-3.8

Men

47.6

46.1

45.0

-7.2

70.8

70.6

69.9

-7.3

82.1

82.4

82.2

-5.7

88.0

87.5

86.8

-4.7

89.4

89.0

88.3

-5.0

87.5

88.1

86.1

-4.0

Women

55.7

55.5

-3.5

77.9

77.6

76.2

-4.6

88.5

86.6

-1.3

91.7

90.7

89.5

-2.1

91.6

92.9

92.8

-4.0

90.3

89.6

89.8

-3.0

Change in

Percent,

1994-2000

Change in

Percent,

2000-2006

Change in

Percent,

1987-2006

0.5

0.6

1.5

-0.5

-0.7

0.8

-5.3

-5.6

-2.7

-2.5

-1.9

-2.6

-10.8

-11.1

-4.9

-6.8

-6.9

-5.6

1.2

2.5

1.0

-0.3

-0.5

1.0

-6.3

-7.0

-3.5

-3.4

-2.8

-2.9

-12.3

-11.8

-8.2

-8.5

-8.3

-5.9

-1.1

1.0

-2.2

-0.3

0.0

-2.5

-5.7

0.1

-1.9

-0.8

-2.4

-7.1

-9.3

-3.4

-4.3

-4.8

-5.4

Source: Calculated by CRS from the Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Notes: Estimates are for persons age 16 and over.

a. Because of changes in the CPS health insurance questions in 1994, the change shown from 1987 to 2006 is the sum of the change from 1987 to 1993 and from

1994 to 2006.

CRS-39

Table 5a. Employer- or Union-Provided Pension Coverage: All Workers, 1979-1994

(percent)

Percentile

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

7.4

24.4

46.2

7.0

24.2

46.6

6.2

23.2

45.7

5.9

23.1

44.3

5.8

21.4

45.0

5.6

21.2

43.4

5.9

21.1

43.3

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

63.4

73.7

64.9

63.9

73.0

66.2

63.0

73.4

66.9

63.0

71.9

65.6

63.0

71.4

65.0

60.6

71.5

64.0

61.8

72.3

65.4

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

9.1

31.8

56.0

70.5

73.3

63.9

7.9

30.3

54.5

69.8

73.9

64.1

7.2

28.4

52.1

69.2

72.1

63.6

6.7

27.7

51.7

68.5

71.9

62.8

7.1

25.2

50.4

66.8

71.8

63.8

6.7

25.6

51.7

67.2

72.3

65.4

6.8

26.0

51.2

66.1

71.2

62.5

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

5.3

18.0

33.0

53.6

68.0

71.9

5.2

16.0

34.6

56.0

69.3

4.7

16.8

34.7

53.7

70.0

4.4

15.7

35.5

55.8

70.5

69.5

4.5

14.9

35.2

57.4

69.3

3.8

15.3

35.8

55.3

68.5

66.8

3.9

16.0

34.7

55.6

70.3

67.6

1986

1987

All Workers

6.1

5.5

21.2

20.6

43.5

41.4

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

5.9

21.0

41.3

6.3

22.2

42.3

6.8

22.1

43.2

6.6

22.2

44.2

6.3

21.6

43.8

6.3

21.2

43.3

7.6

23.2

45.1

62.0

57.2

70.5

68.8

64.3

61.6

Men

6.8

6.6

26.0

24.7

51.2

46.7

66.1

63.2

71.2

69.7

62.5

60.3

Women

5.3

4.4

14.9

34.8

34.7

55.8

51.9

70.2

66.4

69.9

65.7

57.4

69.2

63.5

60.1

69.8

61.7

60.1

70.1

61.7

60.8

71.3

63.4

60.8

71.5

64.7

59.9

69.7

62.4

62.5

72.1

65.6

7.4

24.5

45.6

64.4

69.7

62.1

7.5

24.4

48.0

64.6

70.0

60.0

7.9

27.0

47.6

63.6

70.8

60.4

6.9

26.3

47.9

65.1

71.9

61.7

6.2

24.3

46.9

64.9

69.9

64.3

6.6

23.3

46.7

63.6

68.8

60.9

7.9

26.8

48.9

66.0

72.5

64.9

4.3

16.6

33.7

54.0

66.4

64.3

5.3

17.0

36.8

56.4

68.5

64.8

5.3

17.0

36.9

56.6

68.6

65.7

5.7

18.3

38.0

57.8

69.6

68.1

5.9

18.2

38.4

59.6

70.2

70.8

5.4

18.5

38.5

58.3

68.9

66.1

6.3

19.3

39.7

60.5

71.0

68.1

CRS-40

Table 5b. Employer- or Union-Provided Pension Coverage: All Workers, 1995-2006

(percent)

Percentile

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

7.8

22.9

44.9

62.1

70.5

66.9

7.9

24.2

45.4

62.8

72.2

65.5

7.9

25.7

46.0

63.2

70.1

65.8

9.4

27.2

49.0

64.3

72.2

67.6

9.7

27.0

49.2

64.9

71.9

68.7

10.4

28.8

50.4

64.1

71.7

67.7

9.7

27.5

47.7

63.7

70.6

64.4

9.2

26.7

46.7

61.3

68.9

63.3

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

8.4

25.5

49.5

64.2

71.0

66.1

8.7

27.0

48.3

66.6

71.4

65.1

8.7

27.6

50.1

65.2

71.4

65.1

10.0

30.3

53.6

66.6

72.5

66.8

10.0

30.7

53.6

66.9

71.6

68.8

10.8

31.0

52.1

68.0

71.7

68.0

9.8

30.2

51.7

65.2

69.9

65.4

9.3

28.1

49.7

63.0

67.6

63.0

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

6.5

18.6

40.5

59.4

71.4

68.4

6.8

20.5

41.5

60.1

72.4

67.9

6.9

21.1

42.0

61.4

65.5

8.2

23.0

44.4

62.3

72.3

68.1

9.2

22.0

45.0

62.3

73.1

68.4

9.5

24.8

48.2

62.2

71.3

68.4

8.3

24.0

44.7

61.5

71.9

64.5

8.1

24.6

44.0

59.9

69.3

68.2

2003

2004

All Workers

9.1

26.0

26.9

47.3

46.5

61.3

61.4

70.2

68.5

64.6

65.9

Men

8.9

9.3

28.2

27.7

47.7

47.5

64.1

63.4

69.7

67.8

62.7

66.7

Women

8.6

8.4

23.2

23.5

44.6

45.2

60.9

61.5

71.2

69.3

68.1

68.7

2005

2006

Change in

Percent,

1979-1987

9.1

25.6

45.9

60.4

66.3

64.2

9.7

25.6

43.8

57.1

64.6

60.9

-1.8

-3.9

-4.8

-6.2

-4.8

-3.4

4.9

8.3

9.0

7.0

2.9

6.2

-0.7

-3.2

-6.6

-7.0

-7.1

-6.8

2.4

1.1

-2.4

-6.2

-9.1

-4.0

9.3

27.3

46.7

60.6

67.0

61.7

9.5

26.2

44.7

58.2

64.1

59.4

-2.5

-7.2

-9.3

-7.3

-3.6

4.2

6.3

5.4

4.9

2.1

7.7

-1.2

-4.8

-7.5

-9.8

-7.7

-8.6

0.4

-5.6

-11.3

-12.3

-9.2

-4.5

7.8

24.0

43.1

60.3

68.4

68.0

8.8

22.1

42.8

58.5

66.7

63.7

-0.9

-3.1

1.7

-1.7

-1.6

-6.2

5.2

9.9

13.5

10.2

5.0

2.8

-0.8

-2.7

-5.5

-3.6

-4.6

-4.7

3.5

4.1

9.7

4.9

-1.3

-8.2

Source: Calculated by CRS from the Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Note: Estimates are for persons age 16 and over.

Change in

Percent,

1987-2000

Change in

Percent,

2000-2006

Change in

Percent,

1979-2006

CRS-41

Table 6a. Employer- or Union-Provided Pension Coverage: Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 1979-1994

(percent)

Percentile

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

29.5

53.1

64.0

74.7

76.2

65.9

29.1

53.4

65.6

73.8

75.4

67.6

28.1

53.2

65.4

73.1

76.1

68.6

28.3

51.6

64.7

72.4

75.4

67.5

26.3

51.3

64.1

72.9

73.8

65.4

25.5

49.3

62.6

70.8

75.4

65.8

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

28.7

56.2

69.5

75.7

74.8

63.3

29.6

54.5

69.2

75.6

75.3

66.3

28.3

55.1

68.1

75.2

76.1

64.8

27.3

52.8

67.1

73.9

74.6

66.5

25.8

52.3

67.5

73.1

64.2

24.0

50.9

64.1

73.8

72.9

65.7

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

27.3

45.0

60.7

70.9

77.3

78.6

25.9

48.0

61.5

72.3

77.1

72.2

25.3

47.7

61.1

72.4

77.2

75.4

24.9

49.3

62.2

72.0

77.7

73.6

23.7

48.1

62.1

71.5

76.6

72.2

23.8

46.8

61.1

69.4

75.9

75.3

1985

1986

1987

1988

All Full-Time, Year-Round Workers

25.3

24.0

22.7

23.2

48.3

48.6

45.4

44.5

63.8

62.3

58.1

57.4

71.3

70.6

68.2

68.7

75.2

74.0

71.9

72.8

69.4

66.3

64.4

65.1

Men

23.1

22.4

22.6

22.3

50.5

49.7

45.6

43.9

65.2

65.5

60.6

59.2

73.6

71.5

69.7

70.7

75.2

72.8

71.8

73.2

68.0

64.3

61.2

65.0

Women

24.1

22.4

20.0

21.9

45.6

45.2

43.6

41.9

60.3

60.2

56.3

57.5

71.5

70.4

65.5

66.8

77.2

76.2

74.9

74.6

70.6

74.5

71.1

66.4

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

24.0

46.0

59.2

69.3

72.6

62.1

23.6

45.7

59.8

69.2

74.2

65.9

23.3

46.4

62.4

70.7

75.2

66.0

23.6

46.9

62.2

70.4

75.3

69.9

22.2

45.0

60.4

69.6

73.3

65.7

23.7

48.4

61.2

71.7

75.8

69.8

21.7

46.1

60.1

71.7

70.5

63.6

23.0

45.5

60.2

71.9

73.0

64.1

22.5

47.8

62.2

73.1

73.7

66.8

21.5

46.0

63.1

73.1

71.7

69.3

19.6

43.7

61.1

70.9

71.6

64.4

22.4

46.1

62.8

72.0

75.8

68.7

22.8

45.0

59.1

68.6

74.0

70.5

22.3

44.0

59.2

68.8

75.6

71.1

22.6

44.8

60.0

71.0

75.8

72.0

22.7

48.2

61.6

70.2

77.7

77.5

22.5

45.9

60.9

70.2

74.8

73.6

22.4

48.8

62.3

72.9

76.3

74.9

CRS-42

Table 6b. Employer- or Union-Provided Pension Coverage: Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 1995-2006

(percent)

Percentile

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

23.3

45.8

60.2

69.9

74.3

70.9

24.4

47.5

60.7

71.6

74.9

70.8

24.9

46.8

61.7

70.4

73.6

70.9

25.8

48.3

63.7

70.9

75.2

71.2

25.8

48.1

63.6

71.4

75.7

74.0

25.3

48.7

61.3

71.6

74.8

71.9

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

21.9

45.2

60.7

69.6

74.3

69.5

22.5

45.4

61.5

72.6

74.6

68.9

23.2

45.4

62.7

69.3

74.5

70.9

23.9

47.9

62.5

72.6

74.2

70.8

24.2

48.3

63.9

72.1

75.5

72.8

22.3

47.8

61.8

72.4

75.9

69.8

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

22.7

46.5

57.9

71.6

78.8

71.9

24.4

48.3

61.0

72.3

77.5

72.7

24.5

47.2

62.2

71.9

75.4

71.9

26.5

48.6

63.7

71.0

78.4

73.2

24.2

48.4

63.9

70.9

79.5

73.0

25.1

50.9

62.0

70.3

76.6

75.6

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

All Full-Time, Year-Round Workers

24.7

24.0

22.4

22.7

20.6

21.4

46.3

44.3

46.3

44.6

43.5

40.2

60.4

59.1

58.1

58.2

58.0

55.1

70.1

67.9

68.9

68.3

66.0

63.2

73.4

71.7

73.7

72.6

70.6

67.2

68.8

69.1

69.2

70.0

67.4

65.5

Men

22.5

20.8

19.6

19.4

18.8

18.7

44.6

43.1

45.0

41.7

42.2

38.3

61.5

59.9

57.3

58.5

56.0

53.4

70.7

68.7

69.2

67.9

65.2

62.1

72.5

70.1

72.6

70.9

69.5

66.9

68.7

65.8

67.1

69.8

65.0

62.8

Women

24.6

25.2

23.9

24.6

22.6

23.3

46.5

45.5

45.9

47.3

44.5

42.4

61.1

59.9

61.5

60.9

59.8

57.0

70.0

67.8

70.1

70.3

68.2

65.6

76.7

74.0

75.4

72.8

73.3

70.8

70.9

76.2

74.0

74.8

73.5

68.2

Change in Change in Change in Change in

Percent,

1979-1987 1987-2000 2000-2006 1979-2006

Source: Calculated by CRS from the Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Note: Estimates are for persons age 16 and over.

-6.8

-7.7

-6.0

-6.5

-4.2

-1.5

2.6

3.3

3.4

2.9

7.5

-3.9

-8.5

-6.2

-8.4

-7.7

-6.4

-8.1

-12.9

-8.9

-11.5

-9.0

-0.4

-6.1

-10.6

-8.9

-6.0

-3.0

-2.1

-0.4

2.2

1.2

2.8

4.0

8.6

-3.6

-9.5

-8.4

-10.3

-8.9

-7.1

-10.0

-17.9

-16.1

-13.6

-7.9

-0.5

-7.3

-1.4

-4.4

-5.3

-2.4

-7.5

5.1

7.3

5.7

4.8

1.7

4.5

-1.8

-8.4

-5.0

-4.7

-5.8

-7.3

-4.0

-2.5

-3.8

-5.3

-6.5

-10.3

CRS-43

Table 7. Gini Coefficients for All Workers and for Full-Time,

Year-Round Workers, 1979-2006

Year

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

Total

Men

A. All Workers

0.40772

0.36699

0.40458

0.36412

0.41460

0.38118

0.42016

0.39090

0.42395

0.39558

0.42782

0.39854

0.42871

0.40032

0.43131

0.40484

0.42781

0.40176

0.42833

0.40340

0.42862

0.40583

0.42366

0.40144

0.42495

0.40517

0.42216

0.40455

0.43125

0.41309

0.43524

0.41660

0.47431

0.46835

0.46406

0.45790

0.46617

0.46026

0.46628

0.45756

0.45288

0.44374

0.46679

0.46885

0.47068

0.46564

0.47152

0.47456

0.46831

0.46403

0.46678

0.46611

0.47500

0.47887

0.46989

0.46681

B. Full-Time, Year-Round Workers

0.31643

0.29432

0.31033

0.28875

0.32316

0.30657

0.32826

0.31427

0.32863

0.31627

0.33670

0.32520

0.33538

0.32558

0.33976

0.32949

0.33660

0.32673

0.33782

0.32844

0.33997

0.33139

0.33706

0.33259

0.33624

0.32979

0.33613

0.33215

0.34172

0.33803

0.34654

0.34220

0.38731

0.39594

0.39246

0.40016

0.39093

0.39941

0.38999

0.39703

0.38020

0.38363

0.40197

0.41458

Women

0.37528

0.37835

0.37901

0.38632

0.39450

0.40189

0.40559

0.40460

0.40683

0.40792

0.40934

0.40931

0.40967

0.40809

0.41992

0.42328

0.44358

0.43515

0.43605

0.44347

0.42834

0.42539

0.44669

0.43294

0.44594

0.43695

0.43933

0.44776

0.25941

0.25965

0.26195

0.27251

0.27586

0.28272

0.28473

0.29375

0.29380

0.29908

0.30308

0.30005

0.30412

0.30317

0.31204

0.31959

0.33095

0.34233

0.33888

0.34263

0.33654

0.33904

CRS-44

Year

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Total

0.40573

0.40194

0.39841

0.40204

0.40645

0.40868

Men

0.41449

0.41410

0.40673

0.41409

0.42065

0.41705

Women

0.35912

0.34917

0.35634

0.35386

0.35455

0.37138

Source: Calculated by CRS from the Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement to the

Current Population Survey (CPS).

Note: Estimates are for persons age 16 and over. The Gini coefficient is a measure of earnings

equality that ranges from 0 to 1. A larger coefficient indicates a greater degree of inequality.

CRS-45

Table 8a. Share of Total Weekly Earnings: All Workers, 1979-1994

(percent)

Percentile

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

4.1

10.3

16.3

24.4

27.8

4.2

10.4

16.3

24.6

27.9

16.6

10.2

16.1

24.3

27.8

17.6

3.9

24.3

17.8

3.8

9.8

24.3

28.1

3.8

9.7

15.8

24.3

28.1

18.3

3.8

9.7

15.8

24.1

18.6

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

4.8

11.7

17.7

24.5

26.1

15.3

4.8

11.7

17.8

24.8

26.3

14.7

4.5

11.2

17.4

24.5

26.2

16.2

4.3

10.9

17.2

24.4

26.7

16.5

4.2

10.7

17.1

24.6

26.9

16.6

4.1

10.6

24.5

26.9

16.9

4.2

10.6

16.8

24.4

26.9

17.2

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

4.6

11.5

17.5

24.4

26.4

15.6

4.5

11.4

17.4

24.4

26.6

15.8

4.5

11.2

17.4

24.5

26.8

15.5

4.3

10.9

17.2

24.7

27.2

15.6

4.2

10.7

24.6

27.3

16.1

4.1

10.5

16.8

24.5

27.3

16.9

4.1

10.4

16.7

24.4

27.3

17.1

1986

1987

All Workers

3.8

9.6

9.7

15.7

15.9

24.1

28.1

18.7

18.4

Men

4.2

10.4

10.5

16.7

16.8

24.2

24.3

26.7

27.1

17.7

17.1

Women

4.1

10.3

16.6

24.7

24.4

27.7

27.6

16.7

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

3.8

9.7

15.9

24.2

18.5

3.8

9.7

15.8

18.7

9.8

15.9

23.9

18.4

3.9

9.7

15.9

24.1

18.3

3.9

9.8

24.1

28.2

3.8

9.6

15.7

23.9

28.4

18.6

3.9

9.5

15.4

23.6

28.3

19.2

4.2

10.5

16.7

24.2

26.9

17.5

4.2

10.5

16.5

24.1

27.1

17.6

4.4

10.5

16.5

27.3

17.3

4.3

10.4

16.5

24.1

27.4

17.3

4.3

10.3

16.5

24.2

27.8

16.9

4.1

10.2

16.2

28.1

17.4

4.3

10.1

15.9

23.7

28.1

10.2

16.6

24.6

27.8

16.8

4.1

10.2

16.4

24.4

27.8

17.1

4.1

10.2

16.4

24.4

27.6

17.3

4.1

10.2

16.3

24.4

27.8

17.2

4.1

10.2

16.4

24.6

27.8

16.9

3.9

16.1

24.2

27.9

17.9

4.1

9.9

15.8

23.9

27.8

18.5

CRS-46

Table 8b. Share of Total Weekly Earnings: All Workers, 1995-2006

(percent)

Percentile

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

3.6

8.9

14.4

21.9

26.2

3.8

9.1

14.6

22.1

26.6

23.8

3.7

9.1

14.6

21.9

26.4

24.3

3.8

9.1

14.6

21.8

26.3

24.4

3.9

9.3

14.9

22.4

27.3

22.1

3.9

9.2

14.4

21.6

26.2

24.7

3.8

9.1

14.3

21.4

26.3

25.1

3.8

9.1

14.3

21.4

26.3

25.1

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

3.8

9.2

14.6

21.6

25.3

25.5

3.9

9.4

14.8

21.9

25.7

24.3

9.4

14.7

21.5

25.7

24.7

9.5

14.8

21.6

25.9

24.3

4.1

9.7

15.1

22.3

26.9

9.2

14.2

21.1

25.4

9.3

14.3

21.1

25.8

25.4

9.1

14.1

20.9

25.8

26.2

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

3.9

9.6

15.3

26.9

21.4

4.1

9.7

15.5

23.1

20.7

9.7

15.5

23.1

26.9

20.8

4.1

9.6

15.2

22.6

26.4

22.1

4.2

9.9

15.6

23.2

27.3

19.8

4.2

15.8

23.1

19.9

4.1

9.6

15.1

22.3

26.2

22.7

4.1

9.9

15.5

22.9

26.7

20.9

2003 2004 2005

All Workers

3.8

9.1

9.2

14.4

14.1

21.6

21.7

21.3

26.7

26.3

24.4

24.2

25.5

Men

3.9

9.3

14.4

14.3

13.9

21.4

21.3

20.8

26.3

26.2

25.8

24.6

26.6

Women

4.1

9.6

9.8

9.7

15.2

15.5

15.3

22.4

22.8

22.6

26.5

27.1

26.9

22.2

20.8

21.4

Change in Change in Change in Change in Change in

Percent, Percent, Percent, Percent, Percent,

2006 1980-1986 1986-1992 1992-1994 1995-1999 1999-2006

3.9

9.1

14.2

21.5

26.4

24.9

-0.4

-0.8

-0.6

-0.5

0.2

2.1

0.2

0.0

0.1

-0.8

0.0

-0.3

-0.5

-0.6

0.1

1.3

0.3

0.4

0.5

1.1

-2.8

0.0

-0.2

-0.7

-1.0

-0.9

2.8

4.1

9.2

14.2

21.1

26.1

25.3

-0.6

-1.2

-1.1

-0.7

0.5

3.1

0.1

-0.1

-0.2

0.0

1.0

-0.8

0.0

-0.3

-0.6

-0.5

0.3

1.1

0.2

0.5

0.6

0.7

1.6

-3.5

0.0

-0.4

-0.9

-1.2

-0.8

3.3

4.1

9.5

22.4

26.6

22.5

-0.4

-1.1

-0.8

0.3

1.1

0.9

0.0

-0.1

-0.2

0.0

0.2

0.0

-0.4

-0.6

-0.7

0.0

1.7

0.3

0.2

0.4

-1.5

-0.1

-0.4

-0.6

-0.9

-0.7

2.6

Source: Calculated by CRS from the Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Note: Estimates are for persons age 16 and over.

CRS-47

Table 9a. Share of Total Weekly Earnings: Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 1979-1994

(percent)

Percentile

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

7.5

12.7

17.3

23.5

7.6

12.7

17.4

23.7

13.5

7.4

12.4

17.2

23.4

24.9

14.8

7.2

12.4

17.1

23.2

25.2

14.9

7.1

12.4

17.1

23.4

25.3

14.7

6.9

12.2

23.3

25.2

15.4

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

7.7

13.5

18.1

23.4

24.4

12.9

7.8

13.6

18.3

23.5

24.4

12.3

7.5

13.1

17.9

23.3

24.2

7.2

17.7

23.2

24.8

14.1

12.9

17.8

23.4

24.9

13.9

6.8

12.7

17.6

23.3

24.7

14.8

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

9.2

14.4

18.2

22.9

12.2

9.1

14.5

18.2

23.1

12.1

14.3

18.2

23.3

11.9

8.7

14.1

18.1

23.2

23.4

12.6

8.5

23.3

23.6

12.6

8.3

13.7

23.4

23.7

12.9

1985

1986

1987

1988

All Full-Time, Year-Round Workers

6.8

6.9

12.2

12.1

12.2

12.1

23.3

25.2

25.3

25.4

25.3

15.3

15.5

15.2

15.4

Men

6.9

6.8

6.9

12.6

12.5

17.5

23.4

23.3

23.4

23.3

24.8

25.2

14.8

14.9

14.6

14.7

Women

8.3

7.8

13.6

13.4

13.5

13.3

17.9

17.8

23.5

23.4

23.9

24.1

24.3

12.8

13.3

13.5

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

6.8

12.2

16.8

23.2

25.5

15.5

6.9

12.2

16.9

23.2

25.6

15.2

6.9

12.2

23.3

25.6

6.9

12.1

17.1

23.3

25.7

14.9

6.7

16.9

23.3

26.1

6.7

11.8

16.7

23.3

26.4

15.2

6.9

12.4

17.2

23.3

25.5

14.7

6.8

12.3

17.2

23.4

25.7

14.6

6.8

12.4

17.3

23.5

25.7

14.2

6.7

12.3

17.3

23.5

14.2

6.7

12.1

23.6

26.4

14.2

6.6

16.9

23.5

26.7

14.3

7.7

13.2

17.6

23.4

24.4

13.7

7.8

13.2

17.7

23.5

24.3

13.5

7.8

13.1

17.6

23.3

24.3

13.8

7.7

13.1

17.8

23.4

24.5

13.5

7.4

17.6

23.4

24.8

13.9

7.3

12.7

17.3

23.3

24.9

14.4

CRS-48

Table 9b. Share of Total Weekly Earnings: Full-Time, Year-Round Workers, 1995-2006

(percent)

Percentile

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

6.3

11.1

15.6

21.8

24.6

20.7

6.3

11.1

15.3

21.4

24.4

21.5

6.3

11.1

15.4

21.4

24.4

21.4

6.3

11.1

15.5

21.5

24.6

21.1

6.3

11.2

15.7

22.0

25.5

19.3

6.1

10.8

15.1

21.2

24.6

22.2

6.1

10.7

14.9

20.9

24.6

22.7

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

6.1

11.0

15.5

21.5

24.3

21.7

6.0

10.9

15.3

21.2

24.2

22.3

6.1

11.0

15.3

21.1

24.3

22.2

6.1

11.0

15.4

21.3

24.7

21.6

6.2

11.2

15.7

22.0

25.4

19.6

5.9

10.5

14.8

21.0

24.4

23.5

5.9

10.5

14.7

20.8

24.5

23.5

Lowest Quintile

Second Quintile

Third Quintile

Fourth Quintile

81-95%

Top 5%

7.2

12.5

17.0

22.8

24.6

15.9

7.3

12.3

16.5

22.2

24.2

17.5

7.3

12.3

16.7

22.4

24.3

17.1

7.2

12.2

16.6

22.2

24.3

17.4

7.1

12.3

16.9

22.7

24.8

16.2

7.1

12.4

16.7

22.5

24.6

16.7

7.0

11.9

16.1

21.8

24.2

19.0

Change in Change in Change in Change in Change in

Percent, Percent, Percent, Percent, Percent,

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 1980-1986 1986-1992 1992-1994 1995-1999 1999-2006

All Full-Time, Year-Round Workers

6.2

6.1

6.0

-0.8

0.1

-0.2

0.1

-0.3

10.8

10.9

10.8

10.6

-0.6

0.1

-0.3

0.1

-0.7

15.0

15.1

15.0

14.9

-0.5

0.1

-0.4

0.4

-0.8

21.1

21.3

21.2

21.1

-0.4

0.0

-0.1

0.6

-0.9

25.0

25.2

25.0

25.1

0.3

0.4

0.6

1.1

-0.4

22.0

21.4

21.8

22.1

22.4

2.0

-0.7

0.3

-2.2

3.1

Men

5.9

6.0

5.8

-1.0

0.0

-0.2

0.1

-0.3

10.5

10.6

10.5

10.3

-1.0

-0.2

-0.4

0.2

-0.8

14.8

15.0

14.9

14.7

14.8

-0.8

-0.2

-0.4

0.4

-0.9

21.0

21.3

21.0

20.9

-0.2

0.2

0.0

0.8

-1.1

25.0

25.3

25.1

25.0

25.2

0.5

1.0

0.8

1.2

-0.2

22.9

21.8

22.7

23.4

22.9

2.6

-0.7

0.1

-2.7

3.3

Women

7.1

6.9

7.0

6.8

-1.1

-0.3

-0.1

-0.4

12.1

12.0

11.8

11.5

-1.1

-0.3

-0.4

0.0

-0.8

16.3

16.2

16.3

15.8

-0.3

-0.1

-0.5

0.4

-1.1

22.1

22.0

22.1

22.2

21.7

0.4

0.0

-0.2

0.5

-0.9

24.4

24.7

24.9

24.5

0.9

0.6

0.4

0.7

-0.3

17.9

18.4

17.9

17.8

19.7

1.2

0.2

1.0

-1.4

3.5

Source: Calculated by CRS from the Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Note: Estimates are for persons age 16 and over.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.