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Trends and Patterns of Job Quality in the United States

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  • Nkonya, Ephraim
  • Pender, John

Abstract

This study examines the trends and patterns of real wages, employer sponsored healthcare insurance coverage, and retirement benefits between 2000 and 2022. The analysis is disaggregated by racial and ethnic groups, sex, and between nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) and metropolitan (metro) areas. The results indicate the share of workers with high-quality jobs (i.e., jobs providing health insurance, retirement benefits, and real wages above the median within each census division as of 2000) declined between 2000 and 2022 in nonmetro and metro areas for White non-Hispanic workers and Black non-Hispanic workers but increased for Hispanic workers of all races. However, the mean real wages and the mean total value of compensation (adjusted for inflation), including nonwage benefits, increased in the study period in nonmetro and metro areas and across the racial and ethnic groups studied, but the increase is heavily skewed toward the top 10 percent of the wage and total compensation distributions.

Suggested Citation

  • Nkonya, Ephraim & Pender, John, 2025. "Trends and Patterns of Job Quality in the United States," Economic Information Bulletin 349284, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersib:349284
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.349284
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    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/349284/files/EIB-286.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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