Many believe that wages have stagnated over the last four decades, while in fact, they have fallen. Although the wages of working men have remained roughly unchanged since 1970, when we include those who are unemployed, incarcerated, or living on Social Security benefits, the average wage has actually fallen by 19 percent over this period. While average wages of women have risen significantly since 1970, most of this change is explained by increases in college-attendance and workforce-participation rates among women in the latter part of the 20th century. Indeed, since 2000, median earnings for females have fallen by 6 percent.
