[20041117]95-1081_教育事项：三十年来受教育程度的收入.pdf

1 For information on wage inequality see CRS Report RL31616, The Distribution of Earnings ofWage and Salary Workers in the United States, 1994-2002, by Gerald Mayer.2 For information on the gender wage gap see CRS Report 98-273, The Gender Wage Gap andPay Equity: Is Comparable Worth the Next Step?, by Linda Levine.Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code 95-1081 EUpdated November 17, 2004Education Matters: Earnings by EducationalAttainment Over Three DecadesLinda LevineSpecialist in Labor EconomicsDomestic Social Policy DivisionThe amount of education that individuals accumulate has an important influence ontheir experience in the labor market. Workers with more years of education typicallyencounter less unemployment. Conversely, as educational attainment increases, earningstypically rise. These relationships have held up over time, and in some periods, haveintensified. College graduates earnings grew so much more rapidly than those of lesseducated workers during the 1980s, for example, that it prompted ongoing interest in theextent of wage inequality among U.S. workers.1Workers with a bachelors degree are m