Research Brief 27:
Change in Washington Earnings, 1989-1999: A Report Based on the Census
Research Brief 27A: How Much Did Men and Women Work in 1999 Compared with 1989?
Mean and median earnings calculations are affected by the full-time, part-time, or non-work status of the population. Looking at the Census data for 1990 and 2000, one finds that there were some shifts in work level for men and women. While men still were more likely to work full time in 1999 than women, the gap between men’s and women’s rates of full time work declined. From 1989 to 1999, women increased their rate of full time work and men increased their rate of no work. Read Research Brief 27A (pdf)...
Research Brief 27B: Total Earnings Change for Washington Adults between 1989 and 1999
Between 1989 and 1999, Washington State mean earnings for all adults aged 18 to 64 (including those working and not working) increased 20 percent, or $4,759, after adjusting for inflation. However, the benefits of the increase in mean earnings were not evenly spread across all adults. In 1999, Washington adults at the bottom quarter of the earning distribution were earning 23 percent more than adults at the bottom quarter in 1989, an increase of $865 earned. In contrast, earnings in the third quartile (or 75th percentile) increased by 14 percent, or $4,784. The bottom quartile experienced the greatest percent increase in earnings, but also the smallest increase in terms of dollars gained. The dollar gap between the highest earners and the lowest earners widened between 1989 and 1999, but the percentage difference decreased slightly. This analysis includes adults without earnings as well as adults who worked less than full time. Read Research Brief 27B (pdf)...
Research Brief 27C: Total Earnings Change For Men and Women in Washington State between 1989 and 1999
While all men aged 18 to 64 (including those working and not working) started and ended with higher earnings than women, women experienced greater increases in earnings between 1989 and 1999 than men. Between 1989 and 1999, women’s median earnings increased 30 percent or $3,073 compared to the seven percent increase or $1,915 gained by men. The larger percentage and dollar increase in earnings experienced by women contributed to the decline in the gap between men’s and women’s earnings. Women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s earnings increased across all five percentiles examined. Women’s earnings were closest to men’s at the top of the earnings distribution, but the greatest percentage point increases were experienced by women at the median and 75th percentile. This analysis includes adults without earnings as well as adults who worked less than full time. Read Research Brief 27C (pdf)...
Research Brief 27D: Full-Time Worker Earnings by Sex: 1989-1999
Both women’s and men’s full time earnings increased between 1989 and 1999, but women’s full time earnings grew at a faster rate than men’s. For both men and women, the dollar gap between high and low full time earners and as well as the ratio of high to low full time earnings increased over this ten year period.
Between 1989 and 1999, men’s mean full time earnings increased 16 percent compared to the 25 percent increase experienced by women. Still, men’s full time earnings remained higher than women’s full time earnings. In 1999, mean and median earnings were $34,331 and $29,000 for women compared to $49,929 and $40,000 for men. Read Research Brief 27D (pdf)...
Research Brief 27E: How Change in Earnings is Computed
This brief explains why inflation adjusted earnings are used to compare earnings at two points in time. Read Research Brief 27E (pdf)...
Last modified: August 17, 2004
E-mail: OFM.Forecasting@ofm.wa.gov
