Weekly earnings, by industry

Weekly earnings in goods-producing industries are 35% higher than in services

• Dividing the economy into two broad industry classes—goods production and services—reveals that the average weekly earnings of workers tend to be much higher in the former than the latter. In 2003, for example, annual average weekly earnings stood at $864 for employees in the goods industries as a whole, compared with only $638 in services. The lower wages found in the services industries is due, in part, to the high incidence of part-time work associated with these jobs.
• Two goods-producing industries had average earnings in excess of $1,000 per week in 2003, indicating an annual wage or salary above $52,000 (including overtime): workers in mining and oil and gas extraction earned almost $1,200 weekly, while those with jobs in utilities (electric power generation, natural gas distribution, and water supply and sewage treatment) made just under $1,100 weekly. Within the manufacturing sector, workers in transportation equipment and primary metal manufacturing earned just over $1,000 weekly.
• In services, the highest-paying jobs in 2003 tended to be found in the following sectors: finance and insurance; professional, scientific and technical services; and public administration. Within these sectors, average weekly earnings were $1,200 in securities and commodity contracts intermediation and brokerage; $1,150 in computer systems design and related services; and $1,040 for people working for the federal government administration.

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