newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Women among New Jersey’s work force may still be making less money on the dollar than men, but the good news is the gap is shrinking.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women in New Jersey who were working full-time or on salary in 2010 had median weekly earnings of $824, or 84.8 percent of the $972 median for men. In 2004 the total was about 74 percent. Across the U.S., women earned $669, or 81.2 percent, of the men’s figure.

Martin Kohli, an economist with the BLS said, according to NorthJersey.com, "The earnings of men have really suffered the last couple of years due to the recession." One reason is that construction jobs have stalled as housing has declined during the recession. But Kohli said one-third of New Jersey's working women are employed in education or health care, which is a growing field.

According to Census Bureau figures from before the recession, the District of Columbia was the district where women came the closest to earnings equality with men. In 2006 full-time working women earned $48,586, while men made $49,544.

Highest median earnings for women came in computer and mathematical jobs, where women's earnings were higher than 90 percent of men's earnings.