In 1949   a CompensationSalary, Hourly Wage, Commision, Bonus ... of $3100   is worth $76,629.45 today as measured by its relative share of an index of Production Workers Compensation Production Workers Compensation is an alternative way to determine the relative cost of something in terms of the amount of work by a specific group of workers. In this case it is manufacturing production workers, which would include blue-collar workers, hourly rated workers, or non-office workers. Unlike the unskilled wage, this series includes both money earnings and benefits. During the last third of the 20th century, benefits grew to be close to 25% of the compensation. .

For discussion, this number is defined as the Relative Labor Earnings.

Relative Labor Earnings is measured by comparing the ratio of the compensation in that year relative to the compensation of a production worker in that year and applying that ratio to the compensation of a production worker today. This is the best measure of a wage or salary compensation.

We choose to use the Production Workers Compensation Production Workers Compensation is an alternative way to determine the relative cost of something in terms of the amount of work by a specific group of workers. In this case it is manufacturing production workers, which would include blue-collar workers, hourly rated workers, or non-office workers. Unlike the unskilled wage, this series includes both money earnings and benefits. During the last third of the 20th century, benefits grew to be close to 25% of the compensation. index for this comparator as it is the only series that exists from 1790 to the present that represents compensation of similar type of work. The only other compensation series available for that time period is the Unskilled Wage The Unskilled Wage is a good way to determine the relative cost of something in terms of the amount of work of unskilled labor that it would take to produce, or the relative time spent at work by unskilled workers in order to earn its cost. This index can also be useful in comparing different wages over time. The unskilled wage is a more consistent measure than the average wage for making comparisons over time. This is because the average wage changes both because of changes in the composition of skills in the workforce as well as the general cost of labor. The level of skills of the unskilled is assumed to stay the same. . That series is not a good proxy for the compensation of the average worker over the period. A third choice would be to use GDP per capita The GDP per capita is an index of the economy's average output per person and is closely correlated with the average income. It can be useful in comparing different incomes over time. , but this series is only a proxy as it includes all incomes not just labor’s.

Compensation can be commissions, profit sharing, part-time work, proprietary income and other non-wage incomes. To pick the best index, we suggest the user go to Seven Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount to see a more detailed discussion.

PAST COMPENSATIONS IN TODAY'S TERMS

In 1900 the wage of the conductors who were on the Pennsylvania Railroad was $90 a month, or a Relative Labor Earnings today of $21,400 a month! Today, the actual monthly salary for a Railroad Conductor is less than $6,000. The relative compensation of Conductors has fallen substantially since the golden days of the railroads.

In 1900 the wage of the conductors who were on the Pennsylvania Railroad was $90 a month, or a Relative Labor Earnings today of $21,400 a month! Today, the actual monthly salary for a Railroad Conductor is less than $6,000. The relative compensation of Conductors has fallen substantially since the golden days of the railroads.