At least by one indication, many Americans are earning less than they have in well over a decade.
According to data recently released by the Social Security Administration (SSA), 50 percent of American wage earners had net compensation less than or equal to the median wage, which is estimated to be $27,519.10 for 2012. That is the lowest median wage since 1998.
Based on the SSA data, about 67.1 percent of wage earners had net compensation less than or equal to the $42,498.21 raw average wage for American workers.
At the bottom of the wage scale, 23,303,064 American workers are now earning an average wage of $2,024.79 per year in 2012.
At the very top, 166 Americans earned $50 million or higher.
These figures from the SSA cover only cash pay, not fringe benefits such as health insurance and pensions. The figures are reported to the Internal Revenue Service to verify what individuals put on their tax returns.
5 thoughts on “Median wage falls to lowest level since 1998”
Let’s celebrate those AMAZING $9.50 an hour jobs. FANTASTIC!
It’s Bush’s fault.
Thank you for finally admitting this.
You knew they would bite LVS. You used the right bait!
No wonder the government shut down, less income, less tax’s.