The median weekly wage of the nation's 99.8 million full-time workers was $744 in the second quarter of 2010 seasonally adjusted), according to the latest numbers released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was 0.8 percent higher than a year earlier, but down $4 from the previous quarter's average of $748. And yes, Asians still make more than other races, and men are still making up to 17 percent more than women.
Here are five other interesting facts about the disparity in weekly earnings between races, genders, age and educational levels in America:
1. Overall, Asian men still earn most:
Asians averaged $873 per week in the second quarter of 2008, with Asian men averaging $901 per week and Asian women earning $854. Next came Whites or Caucasians, at $756. African Americans followed, at $607, and Hispanics or Latinos again earned least, averaging $529 per week. In comparison, median earnings for black men working at full-time jobs were $632 per week, 75.4 percent of the median for white men, $838. The difference was less among women, as black women's median earnings ($585) were 85.8 percent of those for white women ($682).
2. Male vs. female among the races:
The biggest difference between the wages women earn and the wages men earn was among whites, with white females earning 81.4 percent of what their male counterparts make. Black females earn 92.6 percent of what their male counterparts earn, and Hispanic and Asian women each make 94.8 percent of what their men bring home.
3. Older men earn the most, but women ages 35-64 earn about the same amount:
Among men, those ages 45 to 54 and ages 55 to 64 had the highest median weekly earnings, $948 and $953, respectively. Usual weekly earnings were highest for women from age 35 to 64; median weekly earnings were $731 for women ages 35 to 44 and age 45 to 54, essentially the same as the $730 median for women ages 55 to 64.
4. Managers and professionals still earn the most:
Among the major occupational groups, people employed full-time in management, professional, and related occupations had the highest median weekly earnings -- $1,229 for men and $920 for women. People employed in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations came in second, averaging $712 per week. Those in sales and office occupations averaged $623, and those employed in production, transportation, and material moving occupations averaged $612. People employed in service jobs earned the least -- averaging $486 per week.
5. The more education you have, the more you earn, but it helps if you're a man:
Among college graduates with advanced degrees (professional or master's degree and above), the highest earning 10 percent of male workers made $3,297 or more per week, compared with $2,178 or more for their female counterparts. When it comes to other degrees of education, full-time workers ages 25 and older without a high-school diploma had median weekly earnings of $440, compared with $629 for high-school graduates (no college) and $1,138 for those holding at least a bachelor's degree.
So at present here in the United States, the well-educated Asian male seems to be at the top of the economic totem pole, while the least-educated Latina female seems to be at the bottom. Remember, these are median incomes, however. Asians represent the smallest segment of the American population of the races mentioned, at 4.4 percent. African Americans make up 12.4 percent of the population and Latinos represent 15.4 percent. Whites represent the largest segment of the American population, at 65.4 percent.
