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Men’s real earning power declines, women on a roll

Released: 
March 07, 2013

Men today earn less in inflation-adjusted wages than in 1979. Women earn more.

Adjust the numbers for inflation, and men today earn less, on average, than when Jimmy Carter was president.

In 1979, the median weekly wage for males 16 and up was worth $844 in today’s dollars. In 2011, that wage was $832. Young men 16 to 24 took the worst hit, going from $566 a week in 1979 to $455 in 2011.

But women made significant gains. In 1979, females 16 and up earned an inflation-adjusted median weekly wage of $526. In 2011? $684.

What’s going on here? See our infographic for more on what we all get paid. Click through “What Do Others Say?” for more views, then add to the discussion below. Why do you think men’s real earnings are in decline?