Worker earnings stagnant as wage gaps persist in first quarter of 2019

Construction workers tie steel for a barrier on the new ramp south of the Loop 610 interchange with Interstate 69 on April 22. Construction workers tie steel for a barrier on the new ramp south of the Loop 610 interchange with Interstate 69 on April 22. Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Staff / Staff Photographer Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Staff / Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Worker earnings stagnant as wage gaps persist in first quarter of 2019 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The median earnings of workers hardly budged in the first quarter of 2019, compared to the same quarter last year, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Seasonally adjusted first quarter median earnings were $898 per week. Adjusted for inflation, earnings of workers hardly budged from last year, only increasing a little over 1 percent.

Wages for Hispanic workers were particularly stagnant of the demographic groups. In the first quarter, Hispanic workers made $696 per week.

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The wage gap, based on the raw wage data which does not account for age or occupation, was the largest for Hispanic workers, who made 74.4 percent of the median white weekly wage in the first quarter. Black workers made 78.8 percent of the median white weekly wage.

The seasonally-adjusted median weekly wage for women in the first quarter, $800, was 80 percent that of men's, $994.