Women to men earning ratio higher than most states

Nevada women who were full-time wage and salary workers in 2014 had median usual weekly earnings that were 85.8 percent of their male counterparts, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in a report released Feb. 10. That’s the 11th highest in the nation out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Women’s median earnings for the period were $637 a week compared to men’s $742.

Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that the women’s to men’s earnings ratio in Nevada decreased 1.3 percentage points from the previous year. Nationwide, women earned $719 per week, or 82.5 percent of the $871 median for men.

In Nevada, the ratio of women’s to men’s earnings has ranged from a low of 73.9 percent in 1997 to a high of 88.4 percent in 2011. Although the ratio has fluctuated, it has remained close to or above 80 percent for the past 10 years.

Among the 50 states, median weekly earnings of women in full-time wage and salary positions in 2014 ranged from $597 in Montana to $878 in Massachusetts.

In the District of Columbia, women earned a median weekly wage of $1,115.

Hawaii had the highest female-to-male earnings ratio among the states, 92.8 percent, and Wyoming had the lowest, 67.7 percent. The District of Columbia had a ratio of 96.0 percent.

The differences among the states reflect, in part, variation in the occupations and industries found in each state and differences in the demographic composition of each state’s labor force. In addition, earnings comparisons by gender are on a broad level and do not controlled for factors that can be significant in explaining earnings differences, such as job skills and responsibilities, work experience, and specialization.