Source: Adapted from Saunders, 2005.

Figure 2.1: The over-representation of less-educated individuals in low-paid jobs (2001)

Over-representation of less-educated in low-paid jobs (2001)

Source: Workplace and Employee Survey (2001)

Table 2.7 shows the median weekly wage earned by full-time, employed workers with differing levels of educational achievement over the past 20 years, as a fraction of the median weekly wage earned by all full-time, employed workers. The top panel presents data for all workers from ages 25-64, while the bottom panel looks at workers relatively new to the labour force (those aged 25-29). Three findings are relevant here.

• Workers with less than high-school education have the lowest median wage of any group. This holds true for all five years examined, and confirms the results of several previous studies (Riddell 2004, Allen 2004).
• The wage gap has increased over the past 20 years. In 1981, the median worker aged 25-64 with less than high-school education earned 87 percent of the median wage for all educational groups. By 2001, the same worker was earning only 81 percent of the median wage for all groups. A similar trend is seen among workers aged 25-29.
• Each additional educational credential leads to increased wages. This is clearly shown in Panel A where each additional credential increases the median wage.

⁷ ‘Low-wage jobs’ are defined here as those with a wage less than $10/hr. Full-time work at $10/hr would give an individual an annual income approximately equal to the before tax low income cut-off (LICO) for a single, unattached person in a large urban area (Saunders, 2005).