State Wholesale Trade Earnings, 1948

Abstract

The average annual earnings of the 2,152,000 wholesale trade employees in the continental United States as reported in the Census of Business, 1948 was $3,357.1 Among the states the average annual earnings of this group varied from $2,456 in Mississippi to $4,076 in New York. In part, this variation among the states is accounted for by the state differences in the kind-of-business composition of wholesale trade. Each kind-of-business has its own requirements for various skills or occupations. In part, it is to be accounted for by state differences in average compensation for essentially similar skills. The purpose of this paper is two fold. First, an effort will be made to the extent permitted by the data collected in the Census of Business, 1948 to separate for each state that part of the total difference between the state and United States average annual earnings which may be attributed to the state's kind-ofbusiness composition from that part which may be attributed to differences in wage rates. Secondly, the contribution of wholesale trade earnings to the differences in state per capita incomes will be examined. Since the state income payment series is an important tool in policy decisions regarding, e.g., federal contributions to state and local government activities, including the administration of federally sponsored welfare programs, an understanding of the sources of the observed differences among states is desirable. Too, the state income payment series provides a convenient yardstick for appraising the differences among states in wholesale trade earnings.