Charting worker earnings by company size and industry
Earnings generally vary by the employment size of the establishment and by industry. This is according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In private industry in June 2006, average hourly earnings ranged from $16.18 in establishments employing between 1 and 49 workers to $23.50 in those with 500 workers or more.
Workers employed in goods-producing industries earned more ($20.06) than did those in service-providing industries ($18.09).
Overall, earnings averaged $18.56 per hour in private industry in June 2006.
This data is from the BLS National Compensation Survey program. Learn more in National Compensation Survey: Occupational Wages in the United States, June 2006, BLS Summary 07-03 (PDF).