In 2023, the median hourly earnings of wage and salary workers in the United States was 19.24 U.S. dollars. This is an increase from 1979, when median hourly earnings were at 4.44 U.S. dollars. Hourly Workers The United States national minimum wage is 7.25 U.S. dollars per hour, which has been the minimum wage since 2009. However, each state has the agency to set their state minimum wage. Furthermore, some cities are able to create their minimum wage. Many argue that the minimum wage is too low and should be raised, because it is not considered a living wage. There has been a movement to raise the minimum wage to 15 U.S. dollars per hour, called “Fight for 15” which began in the early 2010s. While there has been no movement at the federal level, some states have moved to increase their minimum wages, with at least three states and the District of Columbia setting minimum wage rates at or above 15 dollars per hour. More recently, some proponents of increasing the minimum wage say that 15 dollars is too low, and lawmakers should strive toward a higher goal, especially given that a 2021 analysis found that the minimum wage in the U.S. should be 22.88 U.S. dollars if it grew at the same rate as economic productivity. Salary Workers On the other hand, salary workers in the United States do not get paid on an hourly basis. The median weekly earnings of salary workers have significantly increased since 1979. Asian salary workers had the highest hourly earnings in the U.S. in 2021. Among female salary workers, those ages 45 to 54 years old had the highest median hourly earnings in 2021, likewise for male salary workers.

Wages in Sweden decreased to 200.20 SEK/Hour in August from 207 SEK/Hour in July of 2025. This dataset provides - Sweden Average Hourly Wages - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In 1979, about 3.99 million workers were paid hourly rates at the official minimum wage. In 2023, about 81,000 workers were paid hourly rates at the prevailing minimum wage. The prevailing Federal minimum wage was 7.25 U.S. dollars per hour in 2023.

In 2023, the usual median hourly rate of a worker's wage in the United States was 19.24 U.S. dollars, a decrease from the previous year. Dollar value is based on 2023 U.S. dollars. In 1979, the median hourly earnings in the U.S. was 17.48 dollars.

The median hourly earnings for full-time employees in the United Kingdom was 19.74 British pounds in 2025, compared with 18.72 pounds in the previous year. At the start of this provided time period, in 1997, the average hourly wage in the UK was 7.92 pounds per hour, rising to more than ten pounds per hour by 2003, and above 15 pounds per hour by 2020. Minimum and living wage in the UK In the United Kingdom, employers are expected to pay their employees a minimum wage that is determined by how old they are. Under 18s for example, had a minimum wage of 5.28 British pounds in 2023, with the figure increasing to 7.49 pounds those aged 18 to 20, 10.18 for 21 to 22 year old's, and 10.42 for those aged 23 and over. There is also a voluntarily paid living Wage that employers can choose to pay their workers. For the 2023/24 financial year this was twelve pounds an hour, rising to 13.15 pounds an hour for workers based in London. Icelandic the highest earners in Europe Iceland had the highest average annual wage in the Europe in 2022 at around 79,500 U.S dollars. This was followed by Luxembourg at 78,300 dollars, Switzerland at 72,990 and Belgium at 64,850 dollars. The United Kingdom’s average annual wage amounted to around 53,985 U.S dollars in the same year. In this year, the country with the lowest annual salary in Europe was Greece, at 25,980 pounds per year.

South Korea's Occupational Wage Survey (OWS) is an annual business establishment survey conducted since 1970 by South Korea's Ministry of Labor. The dataset contains detailed information on individual workers' earnings, hours worked, educational attainment, actual labor market experience, occupation, industry, and region. The surveyed establishments must employ at least ten workers and were selected by a stratified random sampling method. Because they exclude workers in small enterprises, the self-employed, family workers, temporary workers, and public sector workers, the surveys represent approximately one-half of South Korea's total nonagricultural labor force. The samples for each year are randomly drawn from the original surveys. The surveys cover all industries up through 1986. After 1986, agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing are excluded. This change in sampling procedure does not appear to cause a significant change in the types of nonfarm enterprises covered by the survey.

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Median usual weekly real earnings: Wage and salary workers: 16 years and over (LES1252881600Q) from Q1 1979 to Q2 2025 about full-time, salaries, workers, earnings, 16 years +, wages, median, real, employment, and USA.

United States - Employed: Percent of hourly paid workers: Paid total at or below prevailing federal minimum wage: Wage and salary workers: 16 years and over: Women was 1.30% in January of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Employed: Percent of hourly paid workers: Paid total at or below prevailing federal minimum wage: Wage and salary workers: 16 years and over: Women reached a record high of 21.60 in January of 1980 and a record low of 1.30 in January of 2024. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Employed: Percent of hourly paid workers: Paid total at or below prevailing federal minimum wage: Wage and salary workers: 16 years and over: Women - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on November of 2025.

Average hourly and weekly wage rate, and median hourly and weekly wage rate by National Occupational Classification (NOC), type of work, sex, and age group, 1997 to 2018.

This statistic shows the percent of workers paid hourly rates at or below prevailing federal minimum wage in the United States from 1980 to 2023, by gender. In 2023, only 1.5 percent of the female wage and salary workers were paid hourly rates at or below the federal minimum wage, compared to 21.6 percent in 1980.

This data collection supplies standard monthly labor force data for the week prior to the survey. Comprehensive data is given on the employment status, occupation, and industry of persons 14 years old and older. Additional data are available concerning weeks worked and hours per week worked, reason not working full-time, total income and income components, and residence. Besides the CPS core questions, this survey gathered additional data on the time of day that wage and salary workers started and ended work, hours worked per week, hourly or weekly earnings, premium pay, union membership status, and whether the respondent worked according to a shift or flextime schedule. This survey also contains supplemental statistics on dual job-holders. Data provided include the reason for holding a second job and the number of hours worked per week at this job for the week prior to the survey. Information on demographic characteristics, such as age, sex, race, marital status, veteran status, household relationship, educational level, and Hispanic origin, is available for each person in the household enumerated.

United States - Employed: Percent of hourly paid workers: Paid total at or below prevailing federal minimum wage: Wage and salary workers: 16 years and over was 1.00% in January of 2024, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Employed: Percent of hourly paid workers: Paid total at or below prevailing federal minimum wage: Wage and salary workers: 16 years and over reached a record high of 15.10 in January of 1980 and a record low of 1.00 in January of 2024. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Employed: Percent of hourly paid workers: Paid total at or below prevailing federal minimum wage: Wage and salary workers: 16 years and over - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on November of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Hourly Earnings: Earnings: Economic Activity: Manufacturing: Total Economy for Mexico (LCEAMN01MXM661S) from Jan 1980 to Aug 2025 about Mexico, compensation, earnings, hours, and manufacturing.

Graph and download economic data for Labor Compensation: Earnings: Manufacturing: Hourly for Mexico (MEXLCEAMN01GPSAQ) from Q2 1980 to Q2 2025 about Mexico, compensation, hours, and manufacturing.

Similar Datasets

• Company Bankruptcy Prediction: LINK
• The Boston House-Price Data: LINK
• California Housing Prices Data (5 new features!): LINK
• Spanish Wine Quality Dataset: LINK

Context

The gender pay gap or gender wage gap is the average difference between the remuneration for men and women who are working. Women are generally considered to be paid less than men. There are two distinct numbers regarding the pay gap: non-adjusted versus adjusted pay gap. The latter typically takes into account differences in hours worked, occupations were chosen, education, and job experience. In the United States, for example, the non-adjusted average female's annual salary is 79% of the average male salary, compared to 95% for the adjusted average salary.

The reasons link to legal, social, and economic factors, and extend beyond "equal pay for equal work".

The gender pay gap can be a problem from a public policy perspective because it reduces economic output and means that women are more likely to be dependent upon welfare payments, especially in old age.

This dataset aims to replicate the data used in the famous paper "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations", which provides new empirical evidence on the extent of and trends in the gender wage gap, which declined considerably during the 1980–2010 period.

Citation

fedesoriano. (January 2022). Gender Pay Gap Dataset. Retrieved [Date Retrieved] from https://www.kaggle.com/fedesoriano/gender-pay-gap-dataset.

Content

There are 2 files in this dataset: a) the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) microdata over the 1980-2010 period, and b) the Current Population Survey (CPS) to provide some additional US national data on the gender pay gap.

PSID variables:

NOTES: THE VARIABLES WITH fz ADDED TO THEIR NAME REFER TO EXPERIENCE WHERE WE HAVE FILLED IN SOME ZEROS IN THE MISSING PSID YEARS WITH DATA FROM THE RESPONDENTS’ ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT JOBS WORKED ON DURING THESE MISSING YEARS. THE fz variables WERE USED IN THE REGRESSION ANALYSES THE VARIABLES WITH A predict PREFIX REFER TO THE COMPUTATION OF ACTUAL EXPERIENCE ACCUMULATED DURING THE YEARS IN WHICH THE PSID DID NOT SURVEY THE RESPONDENTS. THERE ARE MORE PREDICTED EXPERIENCE LEVELS THAT ARE NEEDED TO IMPUTE EXPERIENCE IN THE MISSING YEARS IN SOME CASES. NOTE THAT THE VARIABLES yrsexpf, yrsexpfsz, etc., INCLUDE THESE COMPUTATIONS, SO THAT IF YOU WANT TO USE FULL TIME OR PART TIME EXPERIENCE, YOU DON’T NEED TO ADD THESE PREDICT VARIABLES IN. THEY ARE INCLUDED IN THE DATA SET TO ILLUSTRATE THE RESULTS OF THE COMPUTATION PROCESS. THE VARIABLES WITH AN orig PREFIX ARE THE ORIGINAL PSID VARIABLES. THESE HAVE BEEN PROCESSED AND IN SOME CASES RENAMED FOR CONVENIENCE. THE hd SUFFIX MEANS THAT THE VARIABLE REFERS TO THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY, AND THE wf SUFFIX MEANS THAT IT REFERS TO THE WIFE OR FEMALE COHABITOR IF THERE IS ONE. AS SHOWN IN THE ACCOMPANYING REGRESSION PROGRAM, THESE orig VARIABLES AREN’T USED DIRECTLY IN THE REGRESSIONS. THERE ARE MORE OF THE ORIGINAL PSID VARIABLES, WHICH WERE USED TO CONSTRUCT THE VARIABLES USED IN THE REGRESSIONS. HD MEANS HEAD AND WF MEANS WIFE OR FEMALE COHABITOR.

1. intnum68: 1968 INTERVIEW NUMBER
2. pernum68: PERSON NUMBER 68
3. wave: Current Wave of the PSID
4. sex: gender SEX OF INDIVIDUAL (1=male, 2=female)
5. intnum: Wave-specific Interview Number
6. farminc: Farm Income
7. region: regLab Region of Current Interview
8. famwgt: this is the PSID’s family weight, which is used in all analyses
9. relhead: ER34103L this is the relation to the head of household (10=head; 20=legally married wife; 22=cohabiting partner)
10. age: Age
11. employed: ER34116L Whether or not employed or on temp leave (everyone gets a 1 for this variable, since our wage analyses use only the currently employed)
12. sch: schLbl Highest Year of Schooling
13. annhrs: Annual Hours Worked
14. annlabinc: Annual Labor Income
15. occ: 3 Digit Occupation 2000 codes
16. ind: 3 Digit Industry 2000 codes
17. white: White, nonhispanic dummy variable
18. black: Black, nonhispanic dummy variable
19. hisp: Hispanic dummy variable
20. othrace: Other Race dummy variable
21. degree: degreeLbl Agent's Degree Status (0=no college degree; 1=bachelor’s without advanced degree; 2=advanced degree)
22. degupd: degreeLbl Agent's Degree Status (Updated with 2009 values)
23. schupd: schLbl Schooling (updated years of schooling)
24. annwks: Annual Weeks Worked
25. unjob: unJobLbl Union Coverage dummy variable
26. usualhrwk: Usual Hrs Worked Per Week
27. labincbus: Labor Income from...

During the academic year of 2021-22, public school teachers in the United States made an average of 66,397 U.S. dollars per year. This is a significant increase from the 1979-80 school year, when the average annual wage for public school teachers was 15,970 U.S. dollars.

Stagnating wages

While the American economy is doing well, wages have been stagnating in recent years. The federal minimum wage, which currently stands at 7.25 U.S. dollars per hour, has not been raised since July 2009, meaning that minimum wage has not increased with inflation. Although minimum wage varies by state, the federal minimum wage prevails in many states. Additionally, median hourly earnings for workers, while increasing steadily, have not seen any significant jumps in recent years.

Fair pay for teachers

The majority of Americans believe that teachers are not paid fairly for the work that they do. Full-time public elementary and secondary school teachers in the U.S. have the highest salary in New York state, but the lowest salary in Mississippi.

United States - Total Wage and Salary Workers Paid at or Below Prevailing Federal Minimum Wage: 16 Years and Over was 1.10000 % of Total Paid Hourly Rate in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Total Wage and Salary Workers Paid at or Below Prevailing Federal Minimum Wage: 16 Years and Over reached a record high of 15.10000 in January of 1980 and a record low of 1.10000 in January of 2023. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Total Wage and Salary Workers Paid at or Below Prevailing Federal Minimum Wage: 16 Years and Over - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on November of 2025.

Judgement on occupational situation.

Topics: education data; hours each week; overtime; type of overtime pay; reason for overtime; occupational further education; participation in further education events; detailed information on professional career; reasons for change of occupation; characterization of burdens from current and earlier employment; job satisfaction in current as well as in previous occupation (scale); impact of unemployment and assessment of current job security; personal chances in job market; satisfaction with income; major reasons for acceptance of current occupation; assessment of prospects of promotion; recognition experienced at work; possible damages from sloppy work; interest in self-employment; major reason for termination of employment before reaching retirement age or reasons for continuing to work after reaching the age limit; work orientation; fair income; receipt of income dependent on preformance; reasons for increases in wage or salary received; payments in excess of the usual monthly salary; detailed determination of sources of income of all persons in the household; assets; interest in reduction in number of hours each week; side jobs; demographic information on members of the household; leisure activities in youth; position in sibling sequence; social origins; identification as seriously disabled in war; party preference (Sunday question); date of birth; presence at home in the last three days.

Interviewer rating: presence of other persons during the interview; intervention of these persons in the course of the interview; reliability and willingness of respondent to cooperate.

Also encoded was: sex of interviewer; age of interviewer; type of building; length of interview; date of interview.

Wages in China increased to 120698 CNY/Year in 2023 from 114029 CNY/Year in 2022. This dataset provides - China Average Yearly Wages - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

In March 2025, inflation amounted to 2.4 percent, while wages grew by 4.3 percent. The inflation rate has not exceeded the rate of wage growth since January 2023. Inflation in 2022 The high rates of inflation in 2022 meant that the real terms value of American wages took a hit. Many Americans report feelings of concern over the economy and a worsening of their financial situation. The inflation situation in the United States is one that was experienced globally in 2022, mainly due to COVID-19 related supply chain constraints and disruption due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The monthly inflation rate for the U.S. reached a 40-year high in June 2022 at 9.1 percent, and annual inflation for 2022 reached eight percent. Without appropriate wage increases, Americans will continue to see a decline in their purchasing power. Wages in the U.S. Despite the level of wage growth reaching 6.7 percent in the summer of 2022, it has not been enough to curb the impact of even higher inflation rates. The federally mandated minimum wage in the United States has not increased since 2009, meaning that individuals working minimum wage jobs have taken a real terms pay cut for the last twelve years. There are discrepancies between states - the minimum wage in California can be as high as 15.50 U.S. dollars per hour, while a business in Oklahoma may be as low as two U.S. dollars per hour. However, even the higher wage rates in states like California and Washington may be lacking - one analysis found that if minimum wage had kept up with productivity, the minimum hourly wage in the U.S. should have been 22.88 dollars per hour in 2021. Additionally, the impact of decreased purchasing power due to inflation will impact different parts of society in different ways with stark contrast in average wages due to both gender and race.