FEATURED INDICATORS
Real hourly wages, by wage level, 1973 to present
Rising inequality—or the widening of wage levels—is a defining feature throughout much of the last few decades. The middle wage—the 50th percentile or median wage—is displayed alongside higher-end wages (the 90th percentile) and lower-end wages (the 10th percentile), shown here in real—or inflation-adjusted dollars—for better comparison over time.
United States
by Wage percentile
2024
$62.75
90th percentile
$24.87
50th percentile (median)
$14.26
10th percentile
Prime-age EPOP by gender
The prime-age employment-to-population ratio—or the share of the population between 25 to 54 years old with a job—is a key economic indicator because it directly measures employment outcomes and centers the population less likely to be in school or retired. The prime-age employment-to-population ratio is higher for men than women, but both indicators rise in economic recoveries and fall in recessions.
United States
25–54 years
by Gender
Apr 2025
86.3%
Male
75.2%
Female
Productivity-Pay Gap
In the 1970s policymakers dismantled the policy bulwarks helping to ensure that typical workers’ wages grew with productivity. The productivity and pay indexes show the inflation-adjusted growth of economy-wide labor productivity and the average compensation of nonsupervisory and production workers.
United States
by Outcome
2024
396.0
Net productivity (output per hour)
242.5
Total compensation per hour
Unemployment rate, by state, 1978 to present
This figure illustrates the unemployment rate in every state and the District of Columbia since the 1970s, calling out those with the highest and lowest unemployment rate in the latest available data. While the unemployment rate varies by state, the general cyclical pattern of rising unemployment in recessions and falling unemployment in business cycle recoveries or expansions is common across all states.
United States
by State
Apr 2025
5.5%
District of Columbia
4.1%
United States
1.8%
South Dakota
ALL TOPICS
Employment
Data on the labor force are compiled from EPI analysis of basic monthly Current Population Survey microdata
Minimum wages
Minimum wage rates in real and nominal dollars.
Population
Civilian population levels and shares by demographic groups and geographic region.
Poverty
Market poverty and supplemental poverty rates and levels, by poverty thresholds.
Prices
Inflation rates and price indexes using the chained CPI-U and PCE.
Productivity
Productivity and pay levels in real and nominal dollars and growth since 1948. Productivity measures economy-wide output net of depreciation per hour of work. Pay is defined as the average compensation of production and non-supervisory workers.
Unions
Union membership and union wage premium data, by demographic groups and geographic region.
Wage disparities
Racial and gender wage gaps, college wage premiums, and CEO-to-worker pay ratios.
Wages
Measures of hourly and annual wages, by demographic groups, industry, and geographic region from household and establishment surveys and administrative data.