The graph above shows the expected lifetime earnings of a person working as a manufacturing assembler. The red line shows the earnings that a person who began working as a manufacturing assembler in 2006 could expect over their projected work life of approximately 44 years. The blue line shows the earnings that a person who began working as a manufacturing assembler in 2010 could expect over a projected work life of approximately 44 years. Both projected earnings streams account for projected inflation.
The work life earnings for manufacturing assemblers, projected using a life cycle labor market model, show that after the Great Recession these types of workers can expect both lower annual earnings and wage increases over their projected working life.
Methodology:
The projected earnings profiles are constructed from statistical models based on the Current Population Survey (CPS) labor market data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The earnings profiles for assembly workers are based on the earnings of high school educated white male assemblers and fabricators, working full-time or part-time, in 2006 and 2010.