Louisiana women who were full-time wage and salary workers in 2019 had median weekly earnings that were 73.6% of those of male full-time wage and salary workers in the state, below the national gap of 82%.
That’s according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which conducts the Current Population Survey, a national monthly sample survey of 60,000 eligible households, for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The weekly and hourly earnings estimates in this report reflect information collected from one-fourth of the households in the monthly survey and averaged for the calendar year.
The earnings difference between women and men varies significantly by state of residence, in part reflecting the variation in the occupations and industries found in each state and differences in the demographic composition of each state’s labor force. Last year in Louisiana, men reported median weekly earnings of $978, while women took home $720.
In terms of closing the gender pay gap across the country, there has been some improvement since 1979, when women’s earnings were 62% of men’s. Most of the growth in women’s earnings relative to men’s occurred in the 1980s, when the women’s-to-men’s ratio went from 64% to 70%, and in the 1990s, when the ratio went from 72% to 77%. Since 2004, the women’s-to-men’s earnings ratio has remained in the 80% to 83% range.
Among key findings from the most recent national survey:
• The earnings difference between men and women is wider for those above age 35. Women’s median weekly earnings were highest for those between 35 and 44 years old ($920), and for those between 45 and 54 ($904). For men, earnings were highest for 35- to 64-year-olds, with little difference in the earnings of 45- to 54-year-olds and 55- to 64-year-olds ($1,169 and $1,166, respectively). Men between the ages of 35 to 44 had median weekly earnings of $1,149.
• Earnings differences between women and men were largest among Asians and among whites. Asian women earned 77% as much as Asian men in 2019, and white women earned 81% as much as white men. In comparison, Black women had median earnings that were 92% of Black men’s, and Hispanic women’s earnings were 86% of Hispanic men’s.
• The occupational distributions of female and male full-time workers differ considerably. Compared with men, relatively few women work in construction, production, or transportation occupations, and women are far more concentrated in office and administrative support jobs. Check out the full report.
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