US – Lower- and mid-wage occupations experienced proportionately greater declines in their real wages

Averaged across all occupations, real median hourly wages declined by 4.0 percent from 2009 to 2014. As Figure 1 shows, lower- and mid-wage occupations experienced proportionately greater declines in their real wages than did higher-wage occupations. Between 2009 and 2014, occupations in the bottom three-fifths saw median wage declines of 4.0 percent or greater. By contrast, median wages in the two highest quintiles declined by an average of 2.6 and 3.0 percent, respectively. Real median wages in the bottom quintile declined by an average of 5.7 percent between 2009 and 2014, the highest rate for any quintile.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at Occupational Wage Declines Since the Great Recession: Low-Wage Occupations See Largest Real Wage Declines |