Study: Men's earnings shrink

Family incomes of thirtysomething men have continued to rise in recent decades, but mostly because more of their wives are working, the study's authors said. Yet even with the addition of women's paychecks, the rate of family income growth has slowed.

Taken together with data showing more workers are earning less in comparison with the stratospheric incomes of top earners, the report suggests that a growing number of Americans "believe that the rules of the game are no longer fair," said John E. Morton, director of the Economic Mobility Project at the Pew Charitable Trusts and one of the study's lead authors.

In 2004, the median income for a man in his 30s was $35,010, 12% less than that of men in their 30s in 1974, adjusted for inflation, according to the study, which was based on Census Bureau data. By contrast, thirtysomething men in 1994 earned 5% more than their older counterparts.

Researchers focused on that age group because income in one's 30s is a good predictor of lifetime income, according to the report.

Outsourcing and the demise of higher-paying manufacturing jobs have contributed to the stagnation in men's incomes, Morton said. The influx of well-educated women into the workforce since the 1970s may also have exerted downward pressure on men's wages, he said.

Freelance television editor Chapen Hayslett said he earned $48,000 to $50,000 when he worked steadily, a figure that he said was probably less than what his father made at the same age as an Air Force officer.

The 31-year-old North Hollywood resident hasn't discussed the income difference much with his parents, but he said they understood that "employers are being more selective and paying less."

Hayslett said the $80,000 in student loans he accumulated earning his film degree at USC might have limited his earning potential, at least in the short run.

"I didn't have the ability to take as many risks in taking jobs or being more decisive," he said. "It was

The Pew report is the first in a planned series of studies on economic mobility, drawing together researchers representing prominent think tanks from across the political spectrum, including the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute.