What is a “Median” and What is an “Average”
Al Jazeera is the first news organization to report these figures from the Social Security Administration (SSA), which were released late in October.
They report that the median wage was at its lowest level since 1998, when the median stood at $26,984. From its all-time peak in 2007, the median wage was down $980. The average wage, increased to $42,498, up $434,.
How can this be? An average (also called a mean) is just the sum of all wages divided by the number of oeple. If a few people make a LOT more oney, the average goes up. The median is the middle … the wage where half the folk make more and half make less.
The is what the corporatists and Repricans want you to see because as they get richer the average salary goes up even if more and more people are earning less. Readmore.
Gains at top (from AlJazeera)
While most workers are having a tough time, the SSA data reveal a dramatically different story at the top of the job market. The number of workers making $5 million or more grew almost 27 percent, to 8,982 workers, up from 7,082 workers in 2011. Total wages earned by these highly paid workers grew 40 percent — 13 times the overall increase in compensation for workers.
Even higher up the ladder, the number of workers making more than $50 million soared even more, from 93 in 2011 to a new record of 166 people in 2012. Average pay at this stratospheric level grew almost 20 percent, from $81.4 million in 2011 to $97.5 million last year.
Another big winner in recent data is corporate profits, thanks to actions taken by the Bush and Obama administrations since 2007, including the bailouts of Wall Street and the auto industry.
Since 2000, corporate pretax profits, adjusted for inflation, have more than doubled, reaching record levels.