The Face of the Normal American Worker

 I have been thinking about work more recently. Work is the source of so many pressure points in law and society: who pays taxes, and how much; social inequality, social and economic human rights; the right to keep what you make…  

In thinking about this, it is good to know what is normal. The Normal American Worker. Not the social norm, or the ideal norm, but the experience of the people who are right in the middle, the experience that is closest to the experience of most people in America.  

What I found massively re-oriented my view of what society thinks is the norm, and what, statistically, it actually is.  

 First, I calculated the typical wage. Several websites, like this one used the average wage for Americans, which as of the most recent statistics in 2011, is about $41,200 a year. From there, the typical American looks relatively well off, with a job that requires a college degree or advanced trade skills. With two incomes, a family is decently middle class in the $70,000 range. That is enough to pay rent, cover health costs, save a little for college, pay taxes, watch cable TV and enjoy a comfortable life in most parts of the United States. 

  The average is clearly wrong because of income inequality.

 Instead, the median annual wage in the United States according to Social Security Online is $26,965.43. Since the vast majority of workers in the United States work full time (less than 15% are part-time employed), and since the vast majority only hold one job, this is the only full time income for the most Americans.  S

So the normal American earns $27,000 a year. What are typical jobs for this range? A glance at the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the ten largest occupations within $1,000 a year from this median annual wage: 

Occupation:                                Number of Workers         Median Hourly Wage   Annual Occupation Wage

Personal Appearance Workers	478,160			$10.67		$26,370
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	2,143,940			$11.49		$26,410
Grounds Maintenance Workers	909,350			$11.53		$26,460
Counter and Rental Clerks	432,650			$11.12		$26,900
Receptionists and Information Clerks	966,150			$12.49		$27,050
Material Moving Workers	4,036,120			$11.65		$27,350
Security Guards	1,046,420			$11.52		$27,240
Security Guards and Gaming Surveillance Officers	1,055,580			$11.55		$27,290
Other Protective Service Workers	1,417,510			$11.65		$27,790
Healthcare Support Occupations	3,915,460			$12.28		$27,780

Based on my experience, most people do not think of manual laborers, meat packers, beauticians, security guards and receptionists as the middle class. But that is the job type that is right in the median wage range.  

And closest to the middle: rental clerks. In other words, people sitting in the booths of a Hertz Rent-A-Car stall are the face of the Normal American Worker.  

This kind of thinking may be skewed, though. The median wage includes part-time and seasonal workers. Of course, these people are still workers. But using their wages to create the normal type of job might not be correct. People may work part time, at a job that pays much more per hour. A different way to look at it would be look at the median hourly wage, and find normal people based on jobs that pay this wage.

The median hourly wage is about $16.71 an hour. This will give a much different occupation list:

Occupation:                                Number of Workers         Median Hourly Wage   Annual Occupation Wage

Printing Workers		267,390			$16.40		$35,640
Miscellaneous Community and Social Service Specialists		631,150			$16.41		$38,200
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers		454,010			$16.57		$37,240
Dental Assistants		300,160			$16.59		$35,080
Driver/Sales Workers and Truck Drivers		2,719,630			$16.61		$36,710
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks		1,606,260			$16.91		$36,640

Maintenance and Repair Workers, General		1,230,270					$16.93			$37,190
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants		3,615,090				$16.99				$37,780
Metal Workers and Plastic Workers		1,837,280					$17.01			$37,190
Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks		226,260					$17.17			$37,300

Intuitively, this makes a lot more sense. Truck drivers and accountants feel a lot more like the Normal American Worker. Not just scraping by, but not exactly free from uncertainty and mind-numbingly meaningless tasks. Getting by alright, but not much cushion beyond that.  

So when we think about equality, the Normal American Worker is a good image to bring to mind.