Library Guides: Prices and Wages by Decade: 1970-1979

Wages in the United States, 1970-1979

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WAGES - GENERAL SOURCES (all occupations and worker types)

Average annual wages and salaries across all industries - 1960-1974
For those who want the simplest possible figure, this shows the average for all industries combined. Scroll forward in the book to find average weekly earnings and other breakouts. Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1976 edition.
Minimum wage set by federal law, 1938-2009
Chart from the U.S. Dept of Labor shows the first federal minimum wage law enacted in 1938 (25 cents), and all subsequent increases through 2009. Some states set minimum wage higher than the federal level.
Minimum wage set by state laws, 1968-2016
Shows the minimum wage rates set by state laws, as well as the federal minimum wage rate. Source: U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.
Hundreds of occupations - Expected earnings, 1970s
The 1978-1979 Occupational Outlook Handbook discusses each occupation in a short chapter. Many of these include a section titled "Earnings and Working Conditions." Use the Table of Contents to find a page number, then enter it in the "Jump to" box.
State government employees - Salary by state and occupation, 1970s
This resource provides state by state salary comparisons for a large number of occupations typically found in state government. Includes accountants, auditors, buyer, purchasing agents, computer programmers, corrections officers, civil engineers, conservation officers, economists, environmental quality specialists, hospital administrators, laboratory technologists, physicians, nurses, psychiatrists, librarians, personnel specialists, social workers, statisticians, and more. See this example of a table for librarian salaries in 1975.
Employment and Earnings, 1954-2007
Select any year from 1954-2007; tables of contents will appear for each issue. Look for tables describing EARNINGS expressed in "current dollars." Mostly covers jobs in manufacturing, industry and production. Note that earnings data for states and major cities are also available in these reports.
Major league baseball salaries - 1970-1996
This article investigates the history of major league baseball players' salaries; table 1 (page 5) shows average and median annual salaries for 1970-1996, table 2 (page 6) shows the average salaries for the highest and lowest playing teams for select years 1980-1995, and table 4 (page 7) shows minimum baseball salaries for 1967-1997 (source).
Wage Chronologies
Lists of monitored changes in wage rates for selected large U.S. companies including General Motors, Chrysler Corp., Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, Berkshire Hathaway, Swift, Armour, United States Steel Corporation, Carolina Coach Co., Western Greyhound Bus Lines, International Harvester Company, International Shoe Co., Bethlehem Atlantic shipyards, Sinclair Oil Companies, Pacific Coast Shipbuilding, Massachusetts Shoe Manufacturing, Ford Motor Company, International Paper Co., Aluminum Company of America, Rockwell International, Boeing, and more. Covers the late 1930s through the 1970s.
Wages and salaries by industry, 1976-1979
Locate data for an individual industry in the table, or see the average across all domestic industries or all private industries. Some industries breakouts include legal services, government employees, motion picture industry, health services, banking, hotel industry, educational services, real estate, social services and more.
Wage rates for select industries, 1973-1978
A table showing mean wage rates in selected industries can be found on page 38 of this article about wage dispersion (source).

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Industries include mining, meatpacking, candy and confectionary, cigarettes, textiles, hosiery, clothing, dying and finishing, wooden furniture, mills (pulp, paper, paperboard), corrugated boxes, chemicals, fibers, footwear, glassware, tile and pipe, foundries, motor vehicles, semiconductors, and shipbuilding.
Earnings in the South, 1973-1978
This article discusses the relatively low average earnings in the South, with tables showing hourly earnings in 1973 and 1973 on pages 28, 30, and 31 (source).
College and high school graduate wages and earnings - 1979
This article investigates the economic value of a college education. Table 2 (p.20) shows mean annual earnings of college graduates by cohort in 1979 and 1989, table 3 (p.21) compares annual earnings and hourly wages of college versus high school graduates those same years. Please note: data given in 1990 dollars (source).
Workers paid by the hour - Hourly earnings, 1979-1984
This article reports the median hourly earnings of workers paid hourly rates by sex and race for the years 1979 to 1984, see table on page 23 (source).
Profiles of occupational pay: a chartbook
The purpose of this book is to correct common misunderstandings and it quotes pay rates for some jobs to illustrate its points. For example it explains that all workers in one occupation (such as janitors) did not necessarily earn similar pay. It varied a great deal depending on the industry, the location, and how much responsibility the employee had in the position. Benefits also played a part in the total compensation package.
Directory of occupational wage surveys, 1950-1975
This book is an index only; it tells what publications exist. Use it to look up an occupation or a STATE/CITY then the occupation. It will give a bibliographic reference to follow up on. Contact us if you wish to get access to something you see in this index.
Congressional salaries, 1789-1982
Historical chart shows salaries of members of the U.S. Congress, along with dates of enactment and statutory authority for each change.
Youth - Annual earnings of youth, 1975
This report from the Economics and Statistics Service investigates metro versus non-metro youth (ages 16-24 years old) employment trends in the 1970s. Table 16 on page 12 shows the average annual earnings of youth in 1975 based on employment status.
Family income, 1968-1987
This pair of articles examine the income and earning of dual-earning families for 1968-1978 and 1974-1987, the later with breakdowns by age of children and race of family. Source: BLS Monthly Labor Review.
Weekly earnings of families, 1979-1980
Weekly earnings of families by number of earners are shown on page 11 of this report on unemployment in 1980 (source).
Consumer Income Reports, 1944-2018
IMPORTANT: wages can be only one part of overall income. Wages alone do not necessarily equate to a person's total income. If income works for your purposes, you can find income tables in the Census Bureau's Current Population Reports P-60 series, "Consumer Income."
This series, which presents data on families, individuals, and households at various income levels, includes a number of annual sub-series as well as individual and advanced data reports.
Click 'more...' below for reports containing 1970s income data.

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- Advance data reports
  - Poverty Increases by 1.2 Million in 1970
  - Median Family Income Up in 1970
- Household Incomes in:
  - 1970
  - 1971
  - 1972
  - 1973
  - 1974
  - 1975
  - 1976
  - 1977
  - 1978
  - 1979
- Income of Families and Persons in:
  - 1970
  - 1971
  - 1972
  - 1973
  - 1974
  - 1975
  - 1976
  - 1977
  - 1978
  - 1979
- Characteristics of the Low-Income Population:
  - 1970
  - 1971
  - 1972
  - 1973
  - 1974
  - 1975
  - 1976
  - 1977
  - 1978
  - 1979
- Supplementary Report on the Low-Income Population: 1966 to 1972
- Income and Educational Attainment of Men in the United States, 1956 to 1972
- Money Income and Poverty Status of Families and Persons (Advance Reports):
- Household Money Income in 1975, by Housing Tenure and Residence
- Money Income and Poverty Status in 1975 of Families and Persons in the
- Lifetime Earnings Estimates for Men and Women in the United States: 1979

Earnings by race and sex, 1970-1979

EARNINGS by BOTH RACE AND SEX, 1970s

The links below lead to earnings data for race and sex combinations (for example, white women, black men, etc.

Wages and salaries by race and sex - 1970
This table of mean incomes by race and gender is from an article on inequality in wages and salaries for 1960-1980. This source also shows overall mean incomes by census region and industry sector. Source: U.S. Monthly Labor Review, April 1989.
Earnings by race and sex -1978
This table from an article on earnings inequality shows mean earnings for white, black, and Hispanic workers by sex for the years 1978 and 1988 (source).
Earnings by race and sex, 1979
Shows median and mean for each race/sex combination. Further breaks out earnings data by the number of weeks worked in 1979. Source: 1980 Census.
Black college graduates - Earnings, 1979
This article investigates the earnings of college-educated black men and women in 1979 and 1989. Table 6 on page 19 shows median weekly earnings of black workers by age, sex, and educational attainment (source).
Employees in city government - 1976
This article discusses the employment of women and minorities by large city government from 1976 to 1983, table 5 on page 23 shows median salaries by sex and race (source).

EARNINGS by RACE, 1970s

Inupiat wages at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska - 1977
This article on Native Americans in the work force describes the North Slope Borough, an Inupiat government, of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and wages it paid adult workers, see page 49 (source).
Black men - Earnings, 1979
This article investigates the earnings gap between black and white men from 1979 to 1989. Table 2 on page 70 shows average annual earnings by industry (source).

EARNINGS by SEX, 1970s

Women's and men's annual earnings, 1951-1991
Compare women's and men's median earnings over thirty years in one simple table. Year-round, full time workers only. Note: "current dollars" are unadjusted figures. "Real dollars" are computed figures showing adjustment for inflation. Source: 1993 Handbook on women workers.
Median earnings by sex and occupation, 1970-1976
Tables 35-39 compare median earnings of women and men. Source: U.S. Dept of Labor Working Women: a Databook.
Women's income and earnings, 1970-1974
The 1975 Handbook on Women Workers includes an entire chapter (p.123-179) with statistics and analysis on women's income and earnings for the early 1970s:
- Women’s income compared with men’s (p.125-132)
- Income reports for women by experience, age, education, occupation, union membership, and race (p.132-137)
- Earnings by occupation (p.144-173) including clerical workers, school teachers, nurses, allied nursing personnel, scientists, engineers, technical workers, Federal employees, Armed Services personnel, manufacturing (textile mills, apparel, and furniture), banking, life insurance, communications, cleaning services, grocery stores
- Benefits received (p.174-179)
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Or use the table of contents and then jump to a page.
Military wives - Earnings, 1975
This article on the employment situation for military wives discusses family incomes and earnings of wives in both military and civilian families, see tables on page 63 (source).
Annual earnings of women in select occupations, 1975
This article discusses earnings differences by sex and contains a table showing median annual earnings of women in select occupations for 1975 (p.51) (source).

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Occupations include
- kindergarten and prekindergarten teachers
- secretaries
- waiters/waitresses
- bookkeepers
- cashiers
- hairdressers and cosmetologists
- nursing aides, orderlies, attendants
- stenographers
- elementary school teachers
- food service workers
- clerical workers
- sales clerks and retail trade
- payroll and timekeeping clerks
- counter clerks
- statistical clerks
- housekeepers
- packers and wrappers
- therapists
- knitters, loopers, toppers
- building interior cleaners
- office managers
- social workers
- assemblers
- checkers, examiners, inspectors, manufacturing
- secondary school teachers
- computer operators
- painters and sculptors
- real estate agents and brokers
- personnel and labor relations workers
- bartenders
- insurance adjusters, examiners, investigators
- sales managers and retail department heads
- accountants
- machine operatives
- postal clerks
- school administrators
- production controllers
- farm laborers
- bank officers and financial managers
- computer programmers
- janitors and sextons
- insurance agents, brokers, underwriters
- managers and administrators
- medical and osteopathic physicians
- freight and material handlers
- blue-collar work supervisors
- farmers
Self-employed women - Earnings, 1975
This table shows the median earnings (annual, weekly, and hourly) for self-employed versus wage-and-salary women and men in 1990 and 1975 (source).
Part time vs. full time wages of women, May 1977
This profile of part-time women workers compares the hourly earnings of part-timers to full-time workers, see page 10 (source).
Earnings of women workers by industry, 1978
This table from an article on earnings inequality shows mean earnings of full-time women workers by industry for the years 1978 and 1987. Scroll back one page for men's (source).
Family incomes - Working vs. nonworking mothers, 1979
This article on working mothers discusses family incomes in 1979 on pages 51-52
(source).
Mean and median annual earnings of women - 1979
This article discusses the distribution of wages by gender in the 1980s. See table 1 (p.6) for the mean and median annual earnings of women and men in 1979 and 1989; see table 2 (p.8) for mean annual earnings for men and women by educational attainment for the same years. Please note: data is in 1992 dollars (source).

Wages by metro area for selected occupations, 1970-1979

Click on a state tab above to see cities and metro areas. These are U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Area Wage Surveys that show pay for occupations such as secretary, stenographer, typist, messenger, file clerk, bookkeeper, payroll clerk, keypunch operator, computer systems analyst, computer programmer, registered nurse, carpenter, electrician, painter, machinist, mechanic, pipefitter, toot and die maker, janitor, porter, cleaner, and laborer and more.

Alabama