Characteristics of Low-Wage Workers and Their Labor Market Experiences:
Evidence from the Mid- to Late 1990s

Appendix B:
Supplementary Tables To Chapter III

[ Main page of Report | Contents of Report ]

Table

  1. Table B.1. Distribution Of Individual And Household Characteristics Of Low-, Medium-, And High-Wage Workers In March 1996, By Gender
  2. Table B.2. Distribution Of The Characteristics Of Low-Wage Workers By Cluster/Typology And Gender
  3. Table B.3. Distribution Of Job Characteristics Of Low-, Medium, And High-Wage Workers In March 1996, By Gender
  4. Table B.4. Distribution Of Job Characteristics Of Low-Wage Workers In March 1996, By Typology And Gender
  5. Table B.5. Distribution Of Job Characteristics Of Low-Wage Workers In March 1996 For Those In Jobs And Businesses, By Gender

Table B.1.
Distribution Of Individual And Household Characteristics Of Low-, Medium-,
And High-Wage Workers In March 1996, By Gender
(Percentages)
Characteristics Male Workers(a) Female Workers(a)
Low-Wage Medium-Wage High-Wage Low-Wage Medium-Wage High-Wage
Individual Characteristics
Age
   Younger than 20 5 1 0 4 0 0
   20 to 29 34 25 8 27 20 9
   30 to 39 27 33 31 29 31 34
   40 to 49 19 24 37 23 29 37
   50 to 59 12 14 21 14 17 18
   60 or older 3 3 3 4 3 2
Race/Ethnicity
   White and other non-Hispanic 68 82 90 76 82 86
   Black, non-Hispanic 14 10 6 14 12 10
   Hispanic 18 9 4 10 6 4
Educational Attainment
   Less than high school/GED 22 11 3 17 5 1
   High school/GED 43 41 22 45 34 14
   Some college 17 19 16 18 22 13
   College graduate or more 18 29 59 21 39 73
Has a Health Limitation
   No 91 95 96 91 95 97
   Yes 9 5 4 9 5 3
Marital Status
   Married 46 64 79 56 62 65
   Separated, divorced, widowed 15 14 11 21 21 21
   Single, never married 39 22 10 23 16 14
Region of Residence
   Northeast 15 19 22 16 21 26
   South 22 26 25 27 25 23
   Midwest 42 36 28 38 34 29
   Northwest 21 19 24 19 20 23
Lives in a Metropolitan Area
   No 27 26 15 29 20 13
   Yes 73 74 85 71 80 87
Household Characteristics
Household Type
   Single adults with children 10 6 3 18 13 9
   Married couples with children 36 42 49 39 36 37
   Married couples without children 26 28 32 25 30 29
   Other adults without children 28 23 16 18 21 24
Household Size
   1 10 11 9 7 10 13
   2 24 28 29 27 33 35
   3 24 22 20 24 23 21
   4 or more 41 39 42 41 34 31
Age of the Youngest Child in the Household (in Years for Those with Children)
   Younger than 3 30 29 24 25 22 23
   3 to 6 20 22 20 22 20 19
   6 to 12 28 32 36 34 36 36
   13 to 18 22 17 20 20 22 22
Other Employed Adult Lives in the Household
   No 32 30 32 27 26 27
   Yes 68 70 68 73 74 73
Has a Spouse Who Earns (for Those Married)
   No 52 32 30 23 15 10
   Yes 48 68 70 77 85 90
Received Public Assistance in the Past Year
   No 96 98 99 96 99 100
   Yes 4 2 1 4 1 0
In Public or Subsidized Housing
   No 98 99 100 97 99 100
   Yes 2 1 0 3 1 0
Household Income as a Percentage of the Poverty Level
   100 percent or less 14 2 0 12 2 1
   101 to 200 percent 31 15 2 27 10 2
   More than 200 percent 55 83 97 61 88 98
Sample Size 4,389 7,890 6,841 6,088 7,434 3,495
Source: SIPP March 1996 cross-sectional sample.
Note: All figures are weighted using the 1996 calendar year weight.

Table B.2.
Distribution of the Characteristics of Low-Wage Workers By Cluster/Typology and Gender
(Percentages)
Characteristics Male Low-Wage Workers(a) Female Low-Wage Workers(a)
Young, Single, Educated Older, Middle-Income, Low-Education Minority, Married, Low-Income, Low-Education Total Young, Single, Educated Older, Middle-Income, Low-Education Minority, Married, Low-Income, Low-Education Total
Age
    Younger than 20 6 3 5 5 3 3 7 4
    20 to 29 48 14 42 34 33 11 35 27
    30 to 39 18 36 27 27 23 38 34 29
    40 to 49 15 25 16 19 23 27 17 23
    50 to 59 10 17 8 12 15 15 6 14
    60 or older 3 5 1 3 3 6 2 4
Race/Ethnicity
    White and other non-Hispanic 86 93 5 68 96 37 74 76
    Black, non-Hispanic 8 4 38 14 2 35 18 14
    Hispanic 6 3 56 18 2 28 8 10
Educational Attainment
    Less than high school/GED 11 22 38 22 9 26 25 17
    High school/GED 33 55 41 43 43 43 55 45
    Some college 25 11 13 17 20 16 12 18
    College graduate or more 30 12 7 18 28 15 8 21
    Has a Health Limitation 9 10 7 9 8 9 10 9
    Lives in a Metropolitan Area 77 65 79 73 71 73 68 71
Household Type
    Single adults with children 4 13 15 10 2 15 76 18
    Married couples with children 20 40 55 36 45 44 9 39
    Married couples without children 27 26 24 26 36 16 3 25
    Other adults without children 49 22 6 28 17 25 13 18
    Has a Spouse Who Earns 24 36 29 29 65 43 5 49
    Received Public Assistance in the Past Year 1 6 8 4 1 3 16 4
Household Income as a Percentage of the Poverty Level
    100 percent or less 4 15 28 14 2 7 55 12
    101 to 200 percent 3 61 33 31 6 69 29 27
    More than 200 percent 93 25 39 55 92 24 16 61
Sample Size 1,305 1,299 882 3,486 2,723 1,437 884 5,044
Source: SIPP March 1996 cross-sectional sample.
Note: All figures are weighted using the 1996 calendar year weight.

Table B.3.
Distribution Of Job Characteristics Of Low-, Medium, And High-Wage Workers
In March 1996, By Gender
(Percentages)
Job Characteristics Male Workers Female Workers
Low-Wage Medium-Wage High-Wage Low-Wage Medium-Wage High-Wage
Average Hourly Wage in Dollars 5.62 11.05 26.22 5.54 10.71 22.95
Usual Hours Worked per Week
   1 to 19 3 1 1 9 4 5
   20 to 34 13 4 2 25 12 12
   35 to 40 51 52 47 52 63 56
   More than 40 34 43 50 14 21 27
   (Average hours worked) 42.9 44.8 45.6 35.2 38.9 39.3
Average Weekly Earnings in Dollars 240 495 1,217 196 417 898
Owns Business (Self-Employed) 18 9 12 10 5 7
Covered by Health Insurance(a) 41 77 89 57 87 92
Occupation
   Professional/technical 14 22 51 14 35 71
   Sales/retail 11 10 10 16 9 7
   Administrative support/clerical 5 7 4 20 35 14
   Service professions/handlers/cleaners 30 14 5 36 11 4
   Machinists/construction/production/
transportation		 32 44 26 13 10 3
   Farm/agricultural/other workers 8 3 2 1 0 0
Industry
   Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting 11 5 7 8 3 6
   Mining/manufacturing/ construction 20 35 31 12 16 12
   Transportation/utilities 5 9 11 2 5 7
   Wholesale/retail trade 27 18 10 31 13 6
   Personal services 12 7 5 12 6 4
   Health services 2 3 3 10 16 22
   Other services 11 18 26 22 38 42
   Other 12 7 7 3 2 2
   Union Member 7 18 27 6 15 22
Sample Size 4,389 7,890 6,841 6,088 7,434 3,495
Source: SIPP March 1996 cross-sectional sample.
Note: All figures are weighted using the 1996 calendar year weight.
a. SIPP contains information on employer-based health insurance coverage only for jobs that were in progress at the time of the interview. Thus, the health insurance figures pertain to jobs held by the March 1996 cross-sectional sample at the time of their wave 1 interviews. These jobs sometimes differed from the jobs they held in March 1996.

Table B.4.
Distribution Of Job Characteristics Of Low-Wage Workers In March 1996,
By Typology And Gender
(Percentages)
Characteristics Male Low-Wage Workers(a) Female Low-Wage Workers(a)
Young, Single, Educated Older, Middle-Income, Low-Education Minority, Married, Low-Income, Low-Education Young, Single, Educated Older, Middle-Income, Low-Education Minority, Married, Low-Income, Low-Education
Average Hourly Wage in Dollars 5.76 5.49 5.58 5.64 5.48 5.30
Usual Hours Worked per Week
   1 to 19 3 3 3 10 8 8
   20 to 34 14 12 11 25 22 29
   35 to 40 47 47 62 49 60 52
   More than 40 36 38 24 16 11 10
   (Average hours worked) 43.0 43.8 41.3 35.2 35.7 34.2
Average Weekly Earnings in Dollars 249 237 230 200 196 183
Owns Business (Self-Employed) 14 26 11 12 8 7
Covered by Health Insurance(a) 46 39 35 67 53 31
Occupation
   Professional/technical 19 14 6 19 10 7
   Sales/retail 15 12 6 17 13 19
   Administrative support/clerical 6 4 5 23 17 14
   Service professions/handlers/ cleaners 29 26 36 30 41 44
   Machinists/construction/ production/transportation 27 37 34 10 17 16
   Farm/agricultural/other workers 5 8 13 1 2 1
Industry
   Agriculture/ forestry/fishing/ hunting 10 10 14 10 7 6
   Mining/manufacturing/ construction 18 21 22 10 16 12
   Transportation/utilities 5 5 5 2 1 1
   Wholesale/retail trade 32 23 24 31 26 38
   Personal services 12 10 14 11 13 16
   Health services 3 2 2 9 13 10
   Other services 12 10 11 24 21 14
   Other 8 20 8 4 2 2
Union Member 7 6 7 5 7 5
Sample Size 1,305 1,299 882 2,723 1,437 884
Source: SIPP March 1996 cross-sectional sample.
Note: All figures are weighted using the 1996 calendar year weight.
a. SIPP contains information on employer-based health insurance coverage only for jobs that were in progress at the time of the interview. Thus, the health insurance figures pertain to jobs held by the March 1996 cross-sectional sample at the time of their wave 1 interviews. These jobs sometimes differed from the jobs they held in March 1996.

Table B.5.
Distribution Of Job Characteristics Of Low-Wage Workers In March 1996
For Those In Jobs And Businesses, By Gender
(Percentages)
Characteristics Males Workers(a) Females Workers(a) All Workers(a)
Has Job Owns Business Has Job Owns Business Has Job Owns Business
Average Hourly Wage in Dollars 5.82 4.73 5.70 4.14 5.75 4.48
Usual Hours Worked per Week
   1 to 19 3 3 9 15 6 8
   20 to 34 13 13 25 25 20 18
   35 to 40 57 23 55 26 56 24
   More than 40 28 61 11 35 18 50
   (Average hours worked) 41.3 50.0 35.0 37.0 37.6 44.4
Average Weekly Earnings in Dollars 241 235 201 153 217 200
Owns Business (Self-Employed) -- 100 -- 100 -- 100
Covered by Health Insurance(a) 44 20 59 27 53 23
Occupation
   Professional/technical 10 34 14 22 12 28
   Sales/retail 10 17 16 15 14 16
   Administrative support/clerical 6 1 22 5 15 3
   Service professions/ handlers/cleaners 35 7 34 50 34 25
   Machinists/construction/production/
transportation		 32 33 14 6 21 22
   Farm/agricultural/other workers 8 9 1 2 4 6
Sample Size 2,858 628 4,540 504 7,398 1,132
Source: SIPP March 1996 cross-sectional sample.
Note: All figures are weighted using the 1996 calendar year weight.
a. SIPP contains information on employer-based health insurance coverage only for jobs that were in progress at the time of the interview. Thus, the health insurance figures pertain to jobs held by the March 1996 cross-sectional sample at the time of their wave 1 interviews. These jobs sometimes differed from the jobs they held in March 1996.

Where to?

Top of Page | Contents

Main Page of Report | Contents of Report

Home Pages:
Human Services Policy (HSP)
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)