Does only counting the wages of workers make the median less meaningful? For instance raising the workers’ median wage could be accomplished by firing all the lowest earners. If non-workers’ personal income ($0) in the 80s were included in the calculation the overall median would have been lower. Also, there’s roughly 9% unemployment in the U.S. today; what would happen to the median if half of those people got minimum-wage jobs today?
Does only counting the wages of workers make the median less meaningful? For instance raising the workers’ median wage could be accomplished by firing all the lowest earners. If non-workers’ personal income ($0) in the 80s were included in the calculation the overall median would have been lower. Also, there’s roughly 9% unemployment in the U.S. today; what would happen to the median if half of those people got minimum-wage jobs today?