Friday, October 24, 2014

The rising share of US workers not making the average wage 1990-2013

The raw average of net compensation for Social Security purposes has risen 113% since 1990, from $20,172 in 1990 to $43,041 in 2013.

The share of workers not earning as much as the raw average of net compensation has risen 6% over the period, from 63% of workers in 1990 to 66.9% in 2013.

In 1990 there were 127.5 million wage earners, 63% of whom made less than $20,172. If 63% of workers in 2013 didn't make as much as the average wage of $43,041 instead of the actual 66.9%, they would have numbered 98.1 million in 2013. Instead they numbered 104.2 million.