MID-ATLANTIC INFORMATION OFFICE Philadelphia, Pa.

For release: Wednesday, October 26, 2011 PLS 4842 Technical Information: (215) 597-3282 BLSInfoPhiladelphia@bls.gov www.bls.gov/ro3 Media Contact: (215) 861-5600 BLSMediaPhiladelphia@bls.gov

WOMENS EARNINGS IN MARYLAND 2010

In 2010, Maryland women who were full-time wage and salary workers had median weekly earnings of $798 or 85.6 percent of the $932 median weekly earnings for their male counterparts, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureaus regional commissioner noted that the womens-to-mens earnings ratio in Maryland fell 1.7 percentage points from 2009s series high of 87.3 percent, but was still the third-highest ratio recorded in the state since 1997. Nationwide, women earned $669 or 81.2 percent of the $824 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 Maryland, the ratio of womens earnings to mens earnings increased sharply during the 1997- to 2002-period, rising by 11.7 percentage points from its low of 74.4 percent in 1997. Since 2002, this ratio has fluctuated between 81 and 88 percent. (See chart 1.)
Chart 1. Womens earnings as a percent of mens, full-time wage and salary workers, United States and Maryland, 1997-2010 annual averages
88.0 United States 86.0 Maryland

84.0

Percent

82.0

80.0

78.0

76.0

74.0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Among the 50 states, median weekly earnings of women in full-time wage and salary positions in 2010 ranged from $530 in Arkansas to $835 in Connecticut. States with the highest wages for women were located along the Northeastern coastline. In addition to Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey also had wages above $800, and Maryland was close at $798. (See table 1 and chart 2.) Across the nation, median weekly earnings for men were lowest in Arkansas at $640 and highest in Connecticut at $1,101, the same pattern that emerged for women. Five of the six states with wages above $950 (Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Virginia) were located along or close to the east coast. The sole exception was on the west coastWashington. The ratio of female-to-male earnings in 2010 varied across the nation, ranging from 68.8 percent in West Virginia to 91.3 percent in Delaware. Of the eight states with the highest ratios, 85 percent or higher, seven were either in the Northeast or along the border with Mexico, the only exception being North Carolina. (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 states labor force. In addition, comparisons by sex 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 1031, Highlights of Womens Earnings in 2010, issued July 2011; copies are available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cps/cpswom2010.pdf or by calling the Mid-Atlantic Information Office at (215) 597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. Information in this release is also available to sensory impaired individuals. Voice phone: (202) 691- 5200; Federal Relay Service: 1800 8778339. 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 states 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. 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.

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Table 1. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, by state and sex, 2010 annual averages
Both sexes State Number of workers (thousands) 99,531 1,478 241 2,028 911 10,999 1,727 1,195 293 259 5,804 3,198 401 445 4,264 2,030 1,056 970 1,301 1,436 406 2,148 2,193 2,848 1,856 854 1,977 280 652 811 486 3,074 606 6,602 3,049 249 3,679 1,202 1,129 4,171 335 1,416 280 2,001 8,381 853 217 2,892 2,193 566 1,894 197 Median weekly earnings $747 661 827 723 594 793 823 976 760 1,014 717 725 732 666 771 693 700 689 650 682 722 867 946 768 823 618 725 658 688 687 848 895 688 798 671 689 732 661 754 751 805 664 651 639 665 717 754 831 870 705 761 776 Standard Number of error of workers median (thousands) $2 20 18 11 9 8 15 24 16 21 8 14 16 12 10 15 14 16 15 23 15 19 15 11 17 11 16 16 13 12 16 17 17 10 12 13 8 12 17 7 22 10 12 15 8 9 14 18 18 15 12 15 44,472 678 107 878 416 4,712 728 524 137 131 2,735 1,458 185 181 1,865 869 481 439 596 646 189 1,006 982 1,290 819 406 926 128 304 359 213 1,352 270 3,062 1,418 112 1,668 542 468 1,835 152 679 131 926 3,575 324 102 1,351 938 244 856 81 Women Median weekly earnings $669 597 705 667 530 747 719 835 735 965 647 637 658 585 678 598 622 611 581 582 637 798 832 684 749 564 616 553 621 614 745 824 605 747 622 603 645 579 659 664 700 586 598 589 611 620 696 719 748 572 684 616 Standard Number of error of workers median (thousands) $3 18 20 17 14 9 14 32 16 20 8 13 15 14 13 13 13 12 11 12 19 43 19 14 18 18 12 18 14 8 16 16 15 7 10 13 11 12 22 11 26 16 10 15 7 12 22 18 16 17 17 14 55,059 800 134 1,150 496 6,287 998 672 156 128 3,069 1,740 216 264 2,399 1,160 575 531 705 790 217 1,142 1,212 1,558 1,037 449 1,051 152 348 452 273 1,722 336 3,540 1,630 137 2,012 660 661 2,336 183 737 149 1,076 4,806 528 116 1,540 1,255 321 1,037 116 Men Median weekly earnings $824 709 948 767 640 840 925 1,101 805 1,103 773 822 797 754 872 772 786 763 743 834 810 932 1,033 857 903 693 819 730 748 751 966 972 780 861 728 764 817 746 828 822 930 752 716 715 714 841 807 956 978 832 826 891 Women's Standard earnings as percent of error of men's median $3 20 28 16 18 13 22 56 30 58 11 27 22 20 14 22 23 18 19 20 30 32 23 23 23 20 22 19 18 14 27 19 25 11 17 16 16 23 29 15 30 19 17 26 10 26 18 21 22 27 18 17 81.2 84.2 74.4 87.0 82.8 88.9 77.7 75.8 91.3 87.5 83.7 77.5 82.6 77.6 77.8 77.5 79.1 80.1 78.2 69.8 78.6 85.6 80.5 79.8 82.9 81.4 75.2 75.8 83.0 81.8 77.1 84.8 77.6 86.8 85.4 78.9 78.9 77.6 79.6 80.8 75.3 77.9 83.5 82.4 85.6 73.7 86.2 75.2 76.5 68.8 82.8 69.1

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

Note: Data refer to persons 16 years and older.

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Chart 2. Womens median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, by state, 2010 annual averages

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey -4-

Chart 3. Womens earnings as a percent of men's, full-time wage and salary workers, by state, 2010

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey -5-