For Release: Tuesday, January 22, 2013
MID-ATLANTIC INFORMATION OFFICE: Philadelphia, Pa.
Technical information: (215) 597-3282 [email protected]
Media contact:
(215) 861-5600 [email protected]
13-109-PHI
www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic
Womens Earnings in Pennsylvania - 2011
In 2011, Pennsylvania women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median weekly earnings of
$680 or 81.6 percent of the $833 median weekly earnings for their male counterparts, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that the
women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio in Pennsylvania rose 0.8 percentage point in 2011 and marked the series
high point. Nationwide, women earned $684 or 82.2 percent of the $832 median for men. (See table 1.
Earnings in this report do not control for many factors that can be significant in explaining earnings
differences.)
In Pennsylvania, the ratio of women’s to men’s earnings has fluctuated but generally increased since 1997,
ranging from a low of 71.8 percent in 1997 to a high of 81.6 percent in 2011. Since 2007, the ratio has
steadily increased. (See chart 1.)
Among the 50 states, median weekly earnings of women in full-time wage and salary positions in 2011
ranged from $564 in Montana to $878 in Connecticut. States with the highest wages for women were
located along the Eastern Seaboard. In addition to Connecticut, women’s earnings in Massachusetts, New
Jersey, and Maryland were also above $800, followed by New York at $760 per week. (See table 1 and chart
2.)
Across the nation, median weekly earnings for men were lowest in Arkansas at $675 and highest in
Connecticut at $1,106. Five of the seven highest-paying states for full-time male workers (Connecticut,
Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Maryland) were located along or close to the east coast.
The two exceptions were in the Northwest—Alaska and Washington. (See table 1.)
The ratio of female-to-male earnings in 2011 varied across the nation, ranging from 68.7 percent in
Louisiana to 89.9 percent in California. (See table 1.) Two other Western states followed California in the
ranking—Arizona at 88.5 percent and Nevada at 88.4 percent. (See chart 3.) The differences among the
states reflect, in part, variation in the occupations and industries found in each state and in the age
composition of each state’s labor force. In addition, comparisons by gender are on a broad level and do not
control for factors such as educational attainment, which can be significant in explaining earnings
differences.
For more information on the median weekly earnings of women and men, see Bureau of Labor Statistics
Report 1038, “Highlights of Women’s Earnings in 2011,” issued in October 2012; copies are available on
the Internet at www.bls.gov/cps/cpswom2011.pdf. Information in this release is also available to sensory
impaired individuals. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.
Technical Note
The estimates in this report were obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides a
wide range of information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. This survey is conducted
monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau, using a national sample of about
60,000 households, with coverage in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The earnings data are
collected from one-fourth of the CPS monthly sample.
Statistics based on the CPS data are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. The differences among
data for the states reflect, in part, variations in the occupation, industry, and age composition of each state’s
labor force. In addition, sampling error for the state estimates is considerably larger than it is for the national
data.
The principal definitions used in connection with the earnings series in this release are described below.
Usual weekly earnings. Data represent earnings before taxes and other deductions and include any overtime
pay, commissions, or tips usually received (at the main job in the case of multiple jobholders.)
Median weekly earnings. The median is the amount which divides a given earnings distribution into two
equal groups, one having earnings above the median and the other having earnings below the median.
2
Wage and salary workers. Workers who receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or
piece rates. The group includes employees in both the private and public sectors but, for the purposes of the
earnings series, excludes all self-employed persons, regardless of whether or not their businesses are
incorporated.
Full-time worker. Workers who usually work 35 hours or more per week at their sole or principal job.
3
Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, by state and sex, 2011 annual
averages
Both sexes
State
Women's
earnings
Number of Median Standard Number of Median Standard Number of Median Standard
as
workers
weekly
error of
workers
weekly
error of
workers
weekly
error of
percent
(thousands) earnings median (thousands) earnings median (thousands) earnings median of men's
United States.....................
Alabama .........................
Alaska.............................
Arizona ...........................
Arkansas ........................
California ........................
Colorado.........................
Connecticut ....................
Delaware ........................
District of Columbia ........
Florida ............................
Georgia...........................
Hawaii.............................
Idaho ..............................
Illinois .............................
Indiana............................
Iowa ................................
Kansas ...........................
Kentucky.........................
Louisiana ........................
Maine..............................
Maryland.........................
Massachusetts ...............
Michigan .........................
Minnesota.......................
Mississippi ......................
Missouri ..........................
Montana .........................
Nebraska ........................
Nevada ...........................
New Hampshire..............
New Jersey.....................
New Mexico....................
New York ........................
North Carolina ................
North Dakota ..................
Ohio ................................
Oklahoma .......................
Oregon ...........................
Pennsylvania ..................
Rhode Island ..................
South Carolina................
South Dakota..................
Tennessee ......................
Texas ..............................
Utah ................................
Vermont ..........................
Virginia............................
Washington.....................
West Virginia ..................
Wisconsin .......................
Wyoming ........................
100,457
1,476
254
1,984
923
10,981
1,724
1,197
309
253
6,041
3,250
422
450
4,293
2,125
1,080
1,020
1,368
1,423
418
2,146
2,190
2,857
1,835
887
2,036
288
659
841
482
3,090
576
6,552
2,954
249
3,674
1,237
1,167
4,242
343
1,396
286
2,059
8,634
880
221
2,926
2,126
559
1,873
201
$756
680
822
741
617
794
845
988
768
1,046
736
723
738
700
784
708
721
722
688
709
714
885
956
781
833
644
733
623
701
697
862
926
734
826
687
718
742
677
774
760
830
650
660
655
680
718
753
831
877
695
763
788
Women
$2
14
18
12
10
9
17
24
18
37
6
13
15
13
11
13
13
13
15
23
14
24
16
11
18
13
13
12
14
13
18
15
12
10
13
14
8
15
19
8
21
15
12
13
7
11
12
19
21
15
13
16
44,486
675
110
866
419
4,614
716
526
144
127
2,869
1,504
201
178
1,878
881
489
453
633
633
191
1,014
959
1,252
794
418
955
135
301
364
213
1,373
253
3,005
1,373
109
1,602
534
511
1,858
159
660
133
919
3,694
336
99
1,317
877
242
840
79
Note: See footnotes at end of table.
4
$684
595
730
694
567
751
740
878
719
950
668
641
657
604
691
607
656
640
613
592
636
815
853
685
743
582
628
564
631
650
748
831
649
760
630
621
669
601
701
680
746
585
602
605
619
615
704
745
743
595
693
638
Men
$3
13
16
25
19
9
16
33
22
25
9
14
16
10
18
12
16
19
14
13
19
25
18
18
18
17
15
13
21
16
19
20
16
8
11
12
13
13
16
12
27
13
9
12
8
13
17
16
18
13
23
17
55,971
801
144
1,117
504
6,367
1,008
671
165
126
3,172
1,746
221
271
2,415
1,244
591
566
735
790
227
1,132
1,231
1,605
1,042
469
1,081
153
358
477
269
1,717
323
3,547
1,581
140
2,072
703
656
2,384
183
736
152
1,140
4,940
544
122
1,610
1,249
317
1,033
122
$832
753
967
784
675
835
930
1,106
844
1,151
797
800
842
769
889
799
799
811
747
862
795
963
1,058
867
921
716
841
725
755
735
977
997
774
894
751
810
800
765
877
833
917
742
730
712
730
847
819
925
997
797
829
915
$3
19
24
21
20
15
20
49
29
22
14
19
29
19
18
24
22
20
14
33
24
27
19
22
21
25
20
21
19
15
25
22
18
15
14
25
14
16
23
15
30
23
16
19
9
32
29
25
21
26
23
20
82.2
79.0
75.5
88.5
84.0
89.9
79.6
79.4
85.2
82.5
83.8
80.1
78.0
78.5
77.7
76.0
82.1
78.9
82.1
68.7
80.0
84.6
80.6
79.0
80.7
81.3
74.7
77.8
83.6
88.4
76.6
83.4
83.9
85.0
83.9
76.7
83.6
78.6
79.9
81.6
81.4
78.8
82.5
85.0
84.8
72.6
86.0
80.5
74.5
74.7
83.6
69.7
Note: Data refer to persons 16 years and older.
5
6
7