Median weekly earnings of the 111.2 million full-time workers in the U.S. rose 2.9% year-over-year, to a non-seasonally adjusted $824 in the second quarter of 2016, according to the Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Tuesday morning. Data were compiled from the Current Population Survey, a nationwide survey conducted by the BLS.
In the construction and extraction workforce, median weekly earnings (not seasonally adjusted) for all full-time employees increased 5.8% from $741 in 2Q2015, to $784 in 2Q2016. The number of full-time workers employed in construction and extraction occupations also expanded in the second quarter, to a total of 5.9 million from 2Q2015’s 5.7 million.
Male workers still have an indisputable advantage when it comes to earning potential compared to their female peers. The median weekly earnings for a woman working full-time in construction and extraction in 2Q2016 is $685, just 87.2% of the $786 for a man. At the same time, male workers continue to significantly outnumber their female colleagues in the industry, as 5.8 million of the 5.9 million, or 98%, of full-time workers are men.
Full-time workers in installation, maintenance, and repair occupations made a median weekly wage of $819 in the second quarter of 2016, down 2.0% year-over-year. Although male workers are dominant in this field as well (accounting for 96.8% of the total 4.1 million workforce) they are making a lower median weekly wage for the first time compared to their female colleagues. According to the survey, the median weekly earnings of a full-time female worker increased 40% year-over-year to a non-seasonally adjusted $848, 3.7% higher than the $818 by men, marking a huge step forward for pay equality.
Read the full Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers here>>
