finds that disposable personal income per capita in
2000 prices averaged $21,281 in 1990 and rose to
$24,564 in 1999, an increase of about 15 percent.
Employee compensation (wages, salaries, and fringe
benefits) represented about two-thirds of the total
and increased by 60 percent, as did the total. The in-
come of proprietors (owners of unincorporated
businesses and farms) rose more, as did government
transfer payments such as Social Security. Property
income (rents, interest, and dividends) increased
less than did the other income categories.
Wages Average hourly earnings in private employ-
ment rose from $10.20 in 1990 to $13.49 in 1999.
Much of this increase, however, was offset by the rise
in the price level. When adjusted for inflation (ex-
pressed in 1982 dollars), the real wage rose only
from $7.66 in 1990 to $8.01 in 1999—an increase of
about 5 percent. Average weekly earnings rose from
$350 in 1990 to $463 in 1999. After adjustment for
inflation, however, the increase went from $263 in
1990 to $275 in 1999, again a 5 percent rise.
Considering that labor productivity increased
nearly 20 percent over the decade, the foregoing
data on real wages (calculated by the Bureau of La-
bor Statistics) need further inspection. In addition
to the wage payout directly received by workers, an
additional one-fifth of labor costs involved employer
contributions to worker pensions, insurance, and
Social Security. Adjusted for inflation and con-
verted to an average per worker, these data show
compensation per worker of $21,462 (in 1982-1984
prices) in 1990 and $24,150 in 1999, an increase of
about 13 percent.
There were wide differences in wages from one
industry to another. An examination of average
weekly pay for major sectors shows notable ex-
tremes, with very high rewards in natural resource
and mining activities and very low rewards in the lei-
sure and hospitality sectors.
The 1990’s saw a small shift in the share of income
going to families at different levels of income distri-
bution. The top one-fifth of income recipients in-
creased their share of total income over the decade,
so that by 1999 they received nearly half of the total.
Their increase came at the expense of the other four
quintiles.448 Income and wages in the United States The Nineties in America
Major Components of Personal Income, 1990 and 1999 (billions of dollars)YearEmployee
CompensationProprietors’
IncomeProperty
IncomeGovernment
Transfers Total*
1990 $3,338 $381 $975 $573 $4,879
1999 $5,352 $678 $1,411 $988 $7,802
% Change 6 78 45 72 60
*Some minor components are omitted, so total is larger than sum of items listed.
Source: Economic Report of the President, 2008, pp. 260-261.Hourly Wages for Different Worker
Categories, 1990 and 1999Worker Category 1990 1999
Union members $13.16 $17.31
Male $13.94 $18.08
White $14.24 $18.56
Black $12.00 $15.16
Female $11.81 $16.14
White $11.92 $16.40
Black $11.07 $15.16
Nonunion workers $10.55 $14.44
Male $12.17 $16.44
White $12.52 $16.85
Black $8.87 $12.59
Female $8.88 $12.38
White $9.00 $12.58
Black $7.73 $12.59Source: Historical Statistics of the United States: Millennial
Edition, vol. 2, 2006, p. 351.