Civic ReportNo. 35 March 2003Gaining Ground, Moving Up: The Change in the Economic Status of Single Mother Under Welfare Reform
Table 4: Mean Hourly Wage in 2001 and the Hourly Wage at Different Percentiles in the Wage Distribution: Single and Married Mothers by Education
Hourly Wage in 2001
Mean
At Percentile:
Number (in thousands)
Distribution by Education
25th
50th
75th
Single Mothers
Total
5,640
100.0%
11.60
7.40
9.92
13.50
High School Dropout
782
13.9
8.02
6.25
7.00
9.00
High School Graduate
2,158
38.3
10.18
11.98
Some College
2,031
36.0
12.01
8.00
10.50
14.18
College Graduate
668
11.8
19.27
12.00
16.83
23.10
Married Mothers
12,285
14.45
8.50
17.50
922
7.5
8.09
7.30
9.50
3,851
31.3
10.91
7.68
10.00
12.75
3,978
32.4
13.30
8.92
11.56
16.00
3,534
28.8
21.25
13.40
19.00
26.00
Note: The hourly wage is the reported wage for those paid by the hour and it is estimated for those paid on another basis using reported usual weekly earnings and usual weekly hours.
Source: CPS monthly data for the Outgoing Rotation Groups (ORG).
Table 5: Percent of Employed Single Mothers and Married Mothers in 2001 with an Hourly Wage At or Below the Minimum Wage ($5.15) and Up To 35 Cents Above the Minimum: Mothers Ages 18–44, by Education
Percent at or below the minimum ($5.15)
Percent earning $5.15–5.50
Workers Paid by the Hour
3.9
2.1
2.5
1.3
6.8
4.4
6.2
2.8
3.3
0.2
2.4
1.7
College (1 or more yrs)
3.5
1.8
0.6
All Workers 1)
4.2
2.6
1.0
8.2
7.9
2.7
3.8
3.1
1.6
3.4
0.9
0.5
1) All workers include both those paid by the hour, for whom the hourly wage is reported, and those paid on another basis (weekly, monthly, etc.) for whom the hourly wage is estimated based on reported usual weekly earnings and hours.
Source: Calculated from micro data files, CPS Outgoing Rotation Groups (ORG).
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