Youth Indicators 1996 / Indicator 69, Chart 1

Indicator 69. Earnings and Education

Median annual earnings of workers 25- to 34-years-old, by sex and level of education: 1970 to 1993

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Surveys, unpublished data.

Median salaries in constant dollars for young adults have fallen for all education levels and both sexes since 1970. The declines have been particularly large for males with less than 4 years of college. Between 1970 and 1993, the median earnings of male high school dropouts fell by 48 percent and those of high school graduates fell by 35 percent. Because of the discrepancy in the declines among the less and more well educated males, the earnings gap increased substantially. In 1970, males with 4 or more years of college earned 24 percent more than high school graduates. This gap narrowed to 17 percent in 1975, but widened to 57 percent in 1993. Although females continue to earn substantially less than males with similar levels of education, their incomes have declined at a slower pace over the past 20 years. As a result of the more moderate decline, the disparity in men's and women's earnings with similar levels of education has narrowed.