The stagnation of male wages in the US

Abstract

In an analysis of US wages and salaries by sex, age and educational attainment between 1969 and 2008, we find that median wages and salaries of males with no more than a high school diploma have fallen over more than four decades for all but the oldest age group, which made only marginal gains. The median wages and salaries of males with a college degree have stagnated for at least 20, and up to 25, consecutive years within the 39‐year period analyzed. Wages and salaries for typical female workers have risen, especially for those with college degrees, but they have not risen at strong rates by historical standards. The gap in incomes between males and females of comparable ages and education has narrowed but remains large.

Keywords:

• wage level and structure

JEL Classification:

• J31

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Teresa Ghilarducci, John Schmitt, Will Milberg and two anonymous referees for their comments and corrections. They bear no responsibility for remaining errors.

Notes

1. These tables have been omitted from this article, but are available at http://www.newschool.edu/cepa/publications/policynotes/Data%20Appendix.pdf or from the authors on request. All figures in 2005 dollars.

2. These data are available from the authors on request.