Earnings inequality trends are sensitive to the earnings concept and sample of workers surveyed. Inequality increased for some groups of workers, but the combined effects of changes in demand, supply, and institutions did not generate higher wage inequality in the labor market as a whole. (JOW)

Earnings inequality increased sharply in the early 1980s, tapered off in the later 1980s, and reaccelerated in the 1990s. Although inequality increased overall and for men and women separately, a combined analysis overlooks differences in the labor market dynamics of men and women. (Author)