| Union Membership, Coverage, Density, and Employment: | |||||||
| Black Male Workers | |||||||
| Year | Sample Size | Wage | At Cap | Union Wage | Nonunion Wage | Unadjusted Union Wage Prem. | Adjusted Union Wage Prem. |
| 1973 | 1,852 | $3.72 | 0.0% | $4.27 | $3.38 | 26.3% | 22.8% |
| 1974 | 1,766 | $3.87 | 0.0% | $4.59 | $3.45 | 33.1% | 24.0% |
| 1975 | 1,683 | $4.31 | 0.2% | $5.09 | $3.85 | 32.4% | 23.4% |
| 1976 | 1,682 | $4.62 | 0.0% | $5.72 | $3.92 | 46.0% | 30.6% |
| 1977 | 1,950 | $4.81 | 0.0% | $6.00 | $4.12 | 45.6% | 26.4% |
| 1978 | 1,864 | $5.31 | 0.1% | $6.45 | $4.67 | 38.2% | 25.9% |
| 1979 | 1,910 | $6.02 | 0.3% | $6.78 | $5.64 | 20.4% | 13.4% |
| 1980 | 2,337 | $6.43 | 0.1% | $7.44 | $5.89 | 26.4% | 15.6% |
| 1981 | 499 | $6.52 | 0.2% | $7.78 | $6.25 | 24.5% | 17.0% |
| 1983 | 5,833 | $7.42 | 0.7% | $9.37 | $6.97 | 34.4% | 22.2% |
| 1984 | 5,925 | $7.65 | 1.0% | $9.64 | $7.16 | 34.7% | 26.0% |
| 1985 | 6,172 | $7.78 | 1.0% | $9.80 | $7.36 | 33.1% | 26.3% |
| 1986 | 6,709 | $8.20 | 1.1% | $10.56 | $7.58 | 39.3% | 24.8% |
| 1987 | 6,521 | $8.48 | 1.5% | $10.78 | $8.04 | 34.0% | 22.8% |
| 1988 | 5,989 | $8.90 | 2.0% | $11.57 | $8.39 | 37.9% | 26.4% |
| 1989 | 6,021 | $9.27 | 0.1% | $11.88 | $8.40 | 41.4% | 27.4% |
| 1990 | 6,053 | $9.65 | 0.2% | $11.95 | $8.91 | 34.1% | 25.7% |
| 1991 | 5,672 | $9.94 | 0.2% | $12.30 | $9.29 | 32.4% | 22.6% |
| 1992 | 5,497 | $10.20 | 0.3% | $12.68 | $9.40 | 34.9% | 24.5% |
| 1993 | 5,489 | $10.54 | 0.3% | $13.19 | $9.81 | 34.4% | 27.8% |
| 1994 | 7,054 | $11.23 | 0.8% | $13.95 | $10.40 | 34.2% | 25.5% |
| 1995 | 7,219 | $11.37 | 0.4% | $14.03 | $10.59 | 32.5% | 25.8% |
| 1996 | 4,201 | $11.55 | 0.5% | $13.83 | $10.78 | 28.3% | 27.7% |
| 1997 | 4,238 | $12.11 | 0.7% | $14.92 | $11.27 | 32.4% | 25.7% |
| 1998 | 4,428 | $12.63 | 0.3% | $15.42 | $12.04 | 28.1% | 25.4% |
| 1999 | 4,219 | $13.35 | 0.4% | $15.58 | $12.77 | 22.0% | 25.6% |
| 2000 | 4,268 | $14.03 | 0.6% | $16.29 | $13.44 | 21.2% | 24.9% |
| 2001 | 4,123 | $14.97 | 0.5% | $17.54 | $14.09 | 24.5% | 26.4% |
| 2002 | 4,371 | $14.87 | 0.3% | $17.07 | $14.14 | 20.8% | 26.7% |
| 2003 | 3,982 | $15.48 | 0.5% | $18.47 | $14.84 | 24.5% | 25.7% |
| 2004 | 3,831 | $15.86 | 0.6% | $18.28 | $15.42 | 18.5% | 22.7% |
| 2005 | 3,888 | $16.16 | 0.7% | $18.44 | $15.32 | 20.3% | 20.4% |
| 2006 | 3,982 | $16.58 | 0.6% | $19.86 | $16.05 | 23.8% | 22.7% |
| 2007 | 4,199 | $16.94 | 0.5% | $20.25 | $16.42 | 23.4% | 26.7% |
| 2008 | 4,192 | $17.68 | 1.1% | $20.26 | $17.31 | 17.0% | 20.1% |
| 2009 | 3,960 | $17.75 | 0.8% | $21.23 | $17.38 | 22.2% | 24.4% |
| 2010 | 4,087 | $18.45 | 1.0% | $22.45 | $17.64 | 27.3% | 29.7% |
| 2011 | 3,944 | $18.43 | 1.3% | $22.60 | $18.08 | 25.0% | 23.0% |
| 2012 | 3,990 | $19.45 | 1.7% | $23.03 | $18.69 | 23.2% | 19.6% |
| 2013 | 3,888 | $19.64 | 1.8% | $22.47 | $18.91 | 18.8% | 18.3% |
| 2014 | 3,933 | $19.73 | 1.7% | $23.53 | $18.84 | 24.9% | 21.7% |
| 2015 | 4,166 | $20.68 | 2.0% | $23.58 | $19.65 | 20.0% | 16.9% |
| 2016 | 4,176 | $21.60 | 2.4% | $23.13 | $20.73 | 11.6% | 15.7% |
| 2017 | 3,984 | $21.99 | 2.3% | $24.08 | $20.87 | 15.4% | 16.9% |
| 2018 | 3,761 | $22.61 | 2.4% | $25.12 | $21.80 | 15.2% | 16.1% |
| 2019 | 3,607 | $23.72 | 2.7% | $27.56 | $22.75 | 21.2% | 17.4% |
| 2020 | 3,137 | $26.20 | 3.6% | $29.16 | $24.59 | 18.6% | 14.5% |
| 2021 | 3,294 | $26.97 | 4.0% | $29.39 | $25.53 | 15.1% | 13.2% |
| 2022 | 3,327 | $29.40 | 4.6% | $33.83 | $28.01 | 20.8% | 20.0% |
| 2023 | 3,199 | $31.48 | 3.1% | $34.13 | $30.30 | 12.6% | 20.7% |
| 2024 | 3,256 | $32.94 | 0.6% | $34.50 | $31.36 | 10.0% | 18.8% |
| Beginning in April 2023, the CPS gradually phased in dynamic topcoding that assigned anyone | |||||||
| in the top 3% of the weekly earnings distribution a value that matches the average within the | |||||||
| top 3 percent. The estimate of the percent at the cap excludes those who are assigned a | |||||||
| dynamic top code. By the end of 2024, no earnings are capped at $2885. | |||||||
| Copyright 2025 by Barry T. Hirsch, David A. Macpherson, and William E. Even. | |||||||